Mr and Mrs Black
by ElaineAbbene
Summary: Orion had sworn off witches when he met an enchanting muggle girl on an Auror mission in France. Lia hated blood obsessed wizards and wanted to avoid an arranged marriage. Now the wizarding world is a secret between them and tearing apart their marriage.
1. It All Started in a BarPub

**This story is based on my Original Characters Orion and Lia. Orion is Sirius Orion Black's grandson. His father James Black was raised in France by his grandmother Grace Black (pureblooded much to Sirius' annoyance as he couldn't rub it in his parent's faces). He was born at the end of July and also fit the prophecy of the chosen one. However, Voldemort never knew of him and therefore he lived a very normal life in France, meeting his wife who was a wealthy pureblood heiress. They had Orion and moved back to England a few years later. Orion befriended James Potter, Teddy Lupin, and Murphy Finnegan forming a new generation of Marauders which can be read about in my story Marauders Class of 2018 and My Heart Forever Lies in London.(in my mind, Harry and Ginny married right after the final battle which explains why James II is the same age as Teddy.) This is the sequel to those that can be read alone. It is based quite a bit, even with exact lines from, on Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the movie with Angelina Joli, and Brad Pit. So, I'm not really plagarizing, but i'm giving them the credit and changing the plot to suit my needs. Don't worry, it's original enough. And, it's not like i'm making money here. ENJOY and REVIEW!! Thanks! **

**Full Summary:**

**Orion Black is the best friend of James Sirius Potter, Teddy Lupin, and Murphy Finnigan, the grandson of Sirius Orion Black, and a recent graduate of the Auror Academy. He's been a lover of women his entire life, but when he falls hard for the first woman he ever gets serious about, it's a disaster. She's a pureblood manhunter who finds rich pureblooded men, tricks them into marrying her, and then makes off with their money. And she's systematic, using a timeturner to date them all at once. However, right as he's proposing to her, she is caught, and his heart is broken. Swearing off witches, he flees to France to join the FATs, French Auror Team. Once there however, he is also doing secret undercover work for his English boss, Harry Potter. On the very first of these missions he meets a beautiful muggle girl, Lia La'Blanc. The two become wrapped up in a whirlwind romance full of secrets and lies. She thinks he's a police officer, a muggle, and has no idea about the magical world he is a part of. She on the other hand is keeping secrets of her own. A pureblood witch who wants to avoid an arranged marriage and marry for love, she tells him she's a muggle doctor, while she is really a Bauxbatons graduate working as a healer. Only six months into their marriage, the charade of pretending to be muggles around each other is breaking down their relationship, and what will happen when they found out they have ended up with the exact type of people they wanted to avoid being with?**

"Okay, Ryan and Lia Black," said the slightly balding French man wearing tan pants and a grey shirt. "Let's start out with why you're here."

"Okay, OK, I'll go first. Um... Let me say, uh, we don't really need to be here."

"It's a funny story," replied Lia.

"We were at a charity event, with an auction thingy," said Ryan.

"Our friends the Merchants, they live across the street, they invited us."

"Anyways, the grant lot was…errr…" he broke off suddenly.

"A mystery lot!" exclaimed Lia with a glare at her husband.

"Okay, well, I'll admit, I'd had a few," said Ryan.

"A FEW!"

"Okay, quite a few, and since it was close enough to walk and I wasn't appar, operating a moving vehicle home," said Ryan with a flinch. "I started bidding."

"Ryan here is a tad competitive," said Lia with a black glare at her husband who seemed to bite his tongue to keep from retorting.

"Anyways, the point is, four hundred Euros later we have the wonderful mystery lot…"

"Four sessions with Dr. Boucher," they said together with fake smiles.

" See, we've been married for five months, we don't need counseling," said the tall dark haired Ryan who looked cramped and uncomfortable in the small square chair he had been seated in. Fidgeting with his wedding ring nervously, the handsome man seemed to stumble over his words.

"Six," chastened his wife Lia.

"Thank you, five, six months," said Ryan with a slight look of annoyance at the beautiful dark haired woman in the chair next to him. While he was a bit messy, with his shaggy black hair, small amount of dark stuble, and his loosened tie, untucked shirt, and rolled up shirt sleeves, she was the picture of elegance in a dark skirt and a purple silk top with her long dark hair curled to perfection.

"So if you've been married five, six months and you are deliriously happy, why are you here in my office paying a hundred Euro an hour, when you probably could have sold it for at least two hundred and coped the rest of it as pure charity?" asked the marriage counselor with a look. Both of them fidgeted in their seats, Ryan visibly more so than his wife. "Exactly, now, on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the happiness of your marriage?"

"Eight," said Lia quickly. While Ryan seemed to ponder a second.

"Wait, could you clarify? Is ten the highest? Ten being perfectly happy and one being completely miserable or…"

"Just respond instinctively," said the marriage counselor.

Ryan looked at his wife, "Okay, ready?" he asked. She nodded slightly.

"Eight," they replied simultaneously, looking satisfied with themselves and both sitting a little taller. The marriage counselor looked between them, marking something on his chart.

"Okay, now, how's the sex?" he asked.

Lia's big silvery-blue eyes widened in alarm. "I'm sorry, I'm confused. Is this a one to ten thing or are you asking about our sex life?"

"Like in a week, how many times?"

"Is this including weekends?" asked Ryan looking as if he was thinking hard.

"If this is a one to ten thing, how does that work? Because technically, nothing would have to be… zero," said Lia.

"Yes, and if one was zero, then what's ten? Constant twenty-four hour a day, unrelenting, never stopping, even to eat?" asked Ryan with a devilish smirk and a wiggle of his eyebrows. Lia shot him a look and seemed to heave a giant mental sigh.

"It's not a one to ten scenario, it's a straight up question, how often do you have sex?" said the frustrated doctor. They looked at each other. Lia was a pale girl to begin with, but her complexion seemed to whiten even more, and even her cocky husband looked reluctant to answer.

"Okay, let's skip this question for now," said the doctor, obviously sensing he had stumbled across a roadblock. He made a few more marks on his clipboard. "Describe how you first met."

"It was at a bar," said Ryan.

"A pub," corrected Lia causing her husband to give her another seething look of annoyance.

"A bar pub, five six months ago," conceded Ryan causing her to roll her eyes.

"And what did you think when you first saw her?" asked the doctor.

"I thought," said Ryan blushing slightly and glancing at his wife. "I thought she looked like Christmas morning." Lia looked slightly pleased and smoothed her deep purple silk shirt a big as if to hide her smugness.

Orion Black was on a mission. He needed to focus. However, right now all he could seem to think about his love life. Correction, his _unsuccessful_ love life. As the grandson and namesake of Sirius Orion Black he should have been the ultimate player in every right. He even looked like his grandfather in almost every way imaginable from the carelessly messy black hair to the smoldering silver eyes accented by dark lashes and slanting eyebrows. At six foot two, he was above average height, especially here in France, all these men were bloody ponces.

Stupid Ophelia, stupid witches, stupid love. He had been dating a beautiful pureblood witch the previous fall after meeting her at a wedding. She was beautiful, smart, powerful, pureblooded, refined, and everything he _thought_ he wanted. He asked her to marry him, at yet another wedding of a friend they had both attended.

However, he had learned what a deceiving witch she was. She had been dating multiple men, using a timeturner to deceive them all. She had several ex husbands whom she married, and then tricked out of their money. As the next in line for the Black fortune, and a sizable inheritance from his pureblooded mother's side of the family in France, he would have been conned effectively by her beauty and cunningness. There was a reason he had never trusted Slytherins in school.

After the fiasco with Ophelia the Evil, he had sworn off witches. They were too complicated. They couldn't be trusted, you never knew when they were using their magic against you. Orion was never going to marry a witch, they were lying, manipulative, bitches. oweveHH HDressed in all dark clothing, black pants, leather jacket, grey shirt, black shoes, he stood up from the bar, slinging back the shot he had ordered and throwing it back without a wince before slamming it on the counter frustrated.

When he had signed up for the job working as an English auror in the French Auror Team, FAT for short, Orion hadn't realized how much extra stuff he would be doing, just for Mr. Potter. His boss Mr. Potter, not his best friend James. Like he would take orders from that schmuck. Stupid git married the girl of his dreams, and now Orion was all alone in his batchelorhood, well, okay, Teddy and Murphy, their other best friends were still single, but really. James had abandoned him for a WITCH! A WITCH! Maybe she-who-must-not-be-named-or-given-capitalization was a nice girl, brilliantly smart, and insanely beautiful, but that didn't excuse the fact she possessed manipulative magical abilities.

Frowning, more like scowling, he stalked out of the tavern. Back to his mission from Mr. Potter, kill the target, don't get caught. His target was the head of an underground organization that traded in dark objects, very dark objects. It was international, and so far, the only government that they hadn't royally pissed off was France, hence why the idiot leader was hiding out in Paris. Harry wanted him to take down the leader, and then they would see if the organization, which was surprisingly small, would break down. If it didn't, they had quite a few more hits to make. After tracking this man to his headquarters above a muggle tattoo parlor in a shady part of Paris, Orion wouldn't be surprised if the organization turned out to be more complex and resilient than they were hoping.

The hit was messier than he had anticipated, eventually making it necessary to blow up half of the street before ducking into a muggle bar less than a block away from where he had just created a massive explosion, a mess for the obliviators, and possible injuries. That wanker had been harder to take down than sodding Voldemort! Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but hiding his wand in the inside pocket of his leather jacket, Orion was glad he had dressed like a muggle today, and was glad he was so good at doing so. In fact, he could fake anyone out and pretend he was a muggle. He gestured to the bartender to get him a drink, unlike most of the other patrons, he was ignoring the chaos that was starting to arise in the street. Large bits of magic that couldn't be explained easily tended to do that. And the fact that there was pink and blue cursed fire engulfing the tattoo parlor, while a giant army of walking trees, lampposts, mailboxes, and other inanimate objects was terrorizing the area, it was no wonder. Pretty soon the chaos would get here, and hopefully he would be gone. As a wizard in the vicinity, he would be a prime suspect, and err… the culprit too. But, in all fairness, it was a very nice piece of transfiguration.

Downing the muggle shot in a smooth movement, he tossed some money on the bar, getting up to make his quick escape before the FATs arrived. Tomorrow was his first day on the job, and he didn't want to be recognized as that foreigner that was at the shady muggle bar right after a killing less than a block away. He could hear the muggle police, he believed they were called, had arrived on the scene, nugs ringing shots futilely into the enchanted objects.

Suddenly, the door of the pub swung open, and in stepped the most beautiful, graceful, alluring creature that Orion had ever set eyes on. Her pale skin was flawless, translucent almost, with nigh a freckle to blemish it. Her hair was long, full, and dark, not quite black, but neither was it brown. The effect of the dark hair against the paleness of her face was beautiful, mysterious, and utterly enchanting. Her eyes were wide, slanted, and lined with thick, long, curled, dark lashes. However, their color, a startling mix of silver and sapphire was heart stopping. Her lips were full, bow shaped, with a slight pinkness to them, but not quite a rosiness. Her entire expression screamed uncertainty, and Orion wondered what she was doing here.

Her apparel didn't scream slums like the rest of these muggles. Instead, she was wearing a white coat that fell to her mid thighs, was long, and elegant. The coat was open to reveal a grey sweater, and a white skirt. She was wearing high heeled grey boots that came up to her knees, leaving a small gap between skirt and boot where pale skin was revealed. She was clutching a grey handbag, and had hastily shoved something into it upon entering the bar. Looking around, she looked a bit terrified. Obviously the confusion outside was worsening, he had to get out of here, and perhaps he shouldn't do it alone. Someone alone would be suspicious. Witnesses would have been confused to describe his appearance due to the glamour charms he had placed on himself so that people wouldn't really observe him. However, they would know he had been alone.

"Miss," he said in French. "You look lost, do you need some help?" he asked using his most charming smile and sophisticated manner. He had to look like he too didn't belong.

"Well, there is a bit of a mess out front, and I'm afraid of what is going on, the police are snatching people right and left off the street for questioning, and I, I just came…" she was cut off at the door being burst open. The two who were standing close together already startled, and both took a step in toward the other.

Orion knew that these men were hit wizards, or Aurors, most likely hit wizards from the rude way they had burst in, and he knew they would be looking for him. Taking her hand on instinct, he stepped into her personal space, a clear violation since he was a complete stranger, and murmured in her ear. "We're together, they're looking for people who are alone. I think there must be a murderer on the loose," Everything about the way he had leaned in, spoken into her hair, tilted his head, and given a little seductive smirk as he did so indicated that they were together. She caught on fast, perhaps wanting to avoid the hit wizards too, she smiled up at him, seductively. She really did that look well, squeezing his hand, she let him lead her out of the slimy pub, as if they were a couple, headed from the bar to go engage in activities of a differing sort. Orion knew all of the hit wizards were staring at him with eyes full of jealousy for leading the tall, well proportioned, and amazingly beautiful looking woman away. Her heels clicking quietly against the sidewalk, Orion hurried her away, through the back door, out toward the mainstream Paris.

The two walked rapidly in silence, both obviously shaken by the strange experience. He was so lucky to have gotten away. It wasn't every day you got away with assassination in a foreign country. James would be so jealous that he was on his honeymoon right now and not killing dark wizards. Besides that, Orion had always felt that Elaine and Victoire were the most breathtakingly beautiful women he had ever met. If James hadn't been so head over heels for Elaine, and Teddy for Victoire, he himself would have gone after them at Hogwarts. However, there was that whole, don't date the women your best friends love. However, this woman at his side, with her long legs, beautiful curly hair, and metallic eyes beat them both in the looks department. By a landslide.

Suddenly, as they came into the winter sunshine of a more welcoming part of Paris, he realized she was shaking. "Are you alright miss?"

"Yes, I believe I'm just a bit wound up by this entire ordeal. What was that back there? It was one of the most frightening experiences of my entire life!" she said in rapid French. Even her voice was beautiful, a soft, seductive, throaty tone. It wasn't light, airy, and annoying like some girls, but rather, sophisticated, warm, seeming to envelop a person with its melodic rhythm. Orion rather liked it.

"How about a cup of tea?" he said gesturing to a tea shop across the street.

"I thought I detected an English accent," she said in her own accented English and giving him a heartstopping smile. She had the most beautiful, straight, white teeth he could imagine. Her smile brightened her entire face, giving rise to a dimple in one cheek, and turning her eyes more blue than silver. "You English think a cup of warm tea fixes everything."

"Just about everything," laughed Orion in his native language, unable to help himself from returning the smile. "Besides, it's a cold day."

"Yes, it is cold, thank you," she said as he held the door for her and she went inside, seating herself at a booth and waiting for the waitress to join them for their orders. "So, who have I had the pleasure of being rescued by?" she asked with a grin once their orders for hot tea had been taken.

Somehow, uncertainty and a wish for anonymity made him lie. Not quite a lie, but not quite the truth. She was a muggle, she couldn't ever be introduced to the wizarding world. So, perhaps it was better if he wasn't exactly the same person he was in the wizarding world when he was with her. "Ryan, Ryan Black," he said with a grin holding out his hand. "And you my fair damsel in distress?"

"Lia, La'Blanc," she said with a smile holding her own hand. However, instead of shaking it, Orion lifted it to his lips and kissed it. "Aren't you a charmer!" she laughed.

"Perhaps, so. The lovely Miss Lia La'Blanc, that has a certain ring to it."

"Perhaps, so, Mr. Black, what brings you from your England to Festive France?"

"I recently accepted a job here, this is actually my first day here. I start my new job tomorrow."

"Ahh, and what is this mysterious new job?" she asked with a slight smile over her cup of tea that had just arrived.

"I'm in.. law enforcement," he said with only the slightest of pauses as he tried to remember what muggles called it. "I'm starting with the police."

"Ahh, the, Prefet de Police, so, you are just starting up then?"

"Actually, I'm in the.. Scotland Yard, and I'm transferring as a foreign agent for a while. It promotes, international security and union. Plus, my mother's side of the family is French."

"You do know the Language well," she commented demurely as she sipped her tea. "I rather suspected as much."

"You know your English."

"Boarding school," she said dismissively. Wondering what to talk about next, he decided it was best to avoid the subject of what she had been doing in such a dangerous part of Paris. If she didn't ask him, he would return the favor. It was best if she didn't ask because he didn't have a good lie yet.

"So, since I'm new here, and just moved into my flat, where should I go for Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow? Any recommendations?" he asked.

"Hm, well, depending on what part of Paris you are living in, that could be difficult to say, as I'm not familiar with the entire city, but, might I suggest La Lia's?" she smiled at him sweetly.

"Ahh, where is that?" he asked, wishing he had a quill, or pen-that's what muggles wrote with.

"Actually, it's my place. I'll make you dinner, the least I can do after you got me out of that scrape earlier. Those men were frightening, I didn't know what they wanted, but they had to have taken over fifty people off the street for questioning. I'm sure it will be in the papers tomorrow."

"Yes, of course, the papers," he said absently. "And I would love to share holiday dinner with you."

"Excellent, well, do you have… er, anything I could write my address on?" she asked.

"How about I walk you home, it's getting to be evening anyways," he said. It had been nearly sunset when they met at the bar, now it was twilight and the sky was darkening fast.

By the time that they got to her house, which surprisingly, wasn't that far from his, they had discussed every book that he had ever read in muggle studies. Apparently, they were studied in France too, 1984, The Count of Monte Cristo, Tom Sawyer, Frankenstein, and Romeo and Juliet. He was going to have to pick up on his muggle literature. And they had discussed several movies he had seen, she had liked the same ones he had of the ones he had seen. She was smart, obviously smarter than he was when it came to muggle nonsense. However, the more he talked to her, the more he wanted to pull out his old muggle studies text book and study cover to cover. By the time he was at her door, he was ready to start a conversation about microwaves, something he remember studying fifth year. However, here he was, at her door.

"Thanks for walking me home," she said with a smile.

"My pleasure, Lia," he said. She was looking up at him so seductively, so beautiful, with those silvery blue eyes and that twinkle in them would drive him nuts. However, more so than that, it was her mouth, unable to resist, he leaned down, closing the small amount of space until hardly a hairs breadth remained. She closed the gap without hesitation, and he wasn't sure how exactly, but they were in her apartment, snogging like there was no tomorrow, before he knew it. Orion couldn't deny the unbelievable attraction he felt to this girl. She was obviously the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, but she was also intelligent, kind, and somehow intriguing. If he wasn't careful, he might fall in love. At least she was a muggle.

**Now that you've read, please review!!!! If you like this, please read my other stories too, and review those. Also check out my other brand new fic with Fleur and Bill. I haven't decided how often I'll update this one, and it will really depend on response to it. When I get enough response, it will motivate me to write up the next chapter. So please review!!! btw, reviewing this will really motivate me to update My Heart Forever Lies in London too, so I don't accidentally reveal anything that happens in that story in this story. Thanks again!!! Please Review~!!!!!**

**Elaine.**


	2. To Blackmail a Wedding Party

**Please read and review when you're done! Enjoy this chapter!**

Orion grinned at the beautiful girl next to him. It was Christmas Eve, and they had spent the entire day together. They had gone to the muggle part of town, and shopped. Now they were headed back to her place, and she was dancing and skipping through the streets happily with a twinkle in her eyes. He of course was carrying the bags, and was content to watch her laugh and smile at the other passing muggles. None of them seemed to be taking the time to simply enjoy the moment like Lia. Everyone else seemed to be rushing this way and that as they headed with purpose to their destination. She embraced life, and enjoyed every second of it.

Feeling something wet on his cheek, Orion looked up. Snow was falling gently onto the Parisian streets. Perhaps it would be a white Christmas after all. Lai was twirling in the snow, her white coat fanning out in a wide circle and her long dark hair whipping around her. Setting the bags next to the nearby building, he cast a quick charm so that no one else could pick them up. Somehow, she twirled right into his arms, and he being the pureblooded and well trained wizard he was, immediately led her into a waltz, which surprisingly, she knew. Grinning, they waltzed through the street, the muggles around them looking at them as if they were crazy. However, it was pure fun for Orion. Lai throwing her head back in laughter made him smile. She was so beautiful and full of life. Unlike every stuffy pureblooded woman he had ever met, and most witches. She was a ray of sunshine and a breath of fresh air. She was perfect.

* * *

"Slow down, you've known this girl, what? Three, four weeks?" exclaimed Murphy.

"Murph, she's amazing! She's smart, she's funny, she's cute! Bloody beautiful actually!" exclaimed Orion.

"But you were giving up women!"

"Witches, not women!" laughed Orion, opening another bottle of Muggle Beer. He and Murphy had been drinking for the past few hours. They were good friends, and he had to tell someone about this.

* * *

"Lia, I know that you're, headstrong, but really, a muggle?" said a beautiful blond as she sipped tea in a lavishly decorated parlor.

"He's perfect!" exclaimed the dark haired beauty across the tea table from her. She sighed and seemed to be off in her own little world for a second.

"What does he do?" asked the first girl.

"He's in law enforcement, a police officer," replied the second girl. "Like an Auror, but less dangerous."

* * *

"She's a doctor. She works in a hospital, and she's pretty busy, working almost any time of day or night, but it's perfect because my Auror schedule is just as bad. She's like a healer for muggles. Or something."

"He works a lot, like me, but we never talk about work."

* * *

"We don't talk about our jobs, but it lets me pretend I'm a muggle too. I couldn't possibly tell her what I am."

* * *

"He's so perfect for me, it doesn't matter what he is. The only people who will care will be mamam and papa, but it's not like I was going to marry that stupid Rousseau's cousin. I despise that idiot!" proclaimed Lia.

"Well, he's wealthy, and set to inherit the Rousseau Fortune. He couldn't be that horrible. Besides, are you really going to marry this muggle?" replied her friend, munching nervously on a tart.

* * *

"When I look in her eyes, it's like we know each other's deepest darkest secrets, but we have this same passion for life, and nothing else matters, because we are together," declared Orion.

"I think you've had too much to drink. You're spouting absolute rubbish! You are sounding crazy, or like James! You've only know the girl a few weeks," argued Murphy.

"But it doesn't matter," said Orion decisively.

* * *

"He proposed, we are getting married. Mamam and Papa will just have to deal with it."

"NO! You're joking! This is pretty serious stuff Lia."

"We're in love, and nothing matters except being together."

"What, what about Pierre's cousin!?"

"Oh, that stupid stuffy pureblood can rot in hell. I don't care about stupid arranged marriages, I probably wouldn't like him or his money half as much as I love Ryan."

* * *

"So, you'll be one of my groomsmen of course."

"You're fucking insane. You do realize your entire life will be a sham, what with you lying to her about being a muggle."

"Better than some pureblood my parents and grandparents pick for me. Because if I don't marry and start planning on producing an heir, well, it won't be good."

"Ask Teddy, seriously, I'm not coming between you and James. You two need to make up, even if he just married a witch and you won't condone those marriages."

* * *

"Lia La'Blanc, your parents will kill me if they find out that I witnessed your marriage! They'll force my parents to disown me!" exclaimed the distraught part veela. "I'm too beautiful to be disowned!"

"If you won't, I won't be in your wedding. And then you'll have to have one of the posers take my place. Patty, you know I'm your only true friend." The blond rolled her eyes at the nickname.

"FINE! Bitch."

"Correct term would be witch."

* * *

Teddy was moaning over his problems with his crush, Victoire, while Orion waited to tell him what was going to happen tomorrow. Apparently, he slept with his childhood friend and crush while they were both wasted, and then had morphed, and now she didn't know it was him that she slept with. Instead, she thought she had slept with his secret identity Edward Knots that he used while working as a spy in Egypt.

"No, she's an evil veela, and you are better off without her. Good thing you morphed, very good thing. Now you can follow my example and find a muggle girl who is entirely uncomplicated, trustworthy, and beautifully shagable."

"WHAT? I thought you were giving up women?" replied a confused Teddy.

"Actually, I've decided to get married! And you're going to be my best man!" sprung Orion, deciding it would be better just to dump all the news on at once.

"WHAT!?" sputtered the metamorphmagus, spraying his drink.

"Yeah, her name is Lia, and basically, she's the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me," proclaimed Orion with a wistful grin.

"But you, you, you said you were giving up women!" stuttered a dumbfounded Teddy.

"I said witches, not muggle women, I never said anything about muggle women. They are totally different you know. One thing is not the other, and muggle women are not witches," he argued knowingly.

"I knew that you couldn't give up women entirely, you player!" laughed Teddy.

"Ahh, no I couldn't, but let's not be pointing fingers Mr. I slept with a Veela and am retarded."

"Shut up! And you never gave me any advice!"

"I did so! A muggle woman, find one, date one, marry one!"

"When did you support marriage!" exclaimed Teddy. "You were horrible to James, trying to convince him not to marry Elaine."

"She's a witch! I'm still mad about that! I refuse to condone witch-wizard weddings!" Which is why James wasn't going to be in Orion's wedding.

"Bloody hell Orion, you're insane!"

"No, I'm not, but I want you in my wedding, tomorrow. I'm in love, Lia is just the most amazing girl I've ever met! She's also the most beautiful! There is something special about muggle girls."

"So if you are getting married tomorrow? Is your family coming? Why am I your best man?"

"She thinks I'm a muggle! That's the beauty of it! I am going to live entirely as a muggle, besides work of course, but I already bought a muggle place, I'm going to stop doing magic at home, I'm going to be a perfect Muggle husband, and she'll be the perfect muggle wife, and we'll have no stupid magic between us!"

"What about your job? Your family? You'll be essentially lying to her!" exclaimed Teddy.

"I'm going to tell her the truth, sort of. My family lives in England, and won't be able to come see us much. Our wedding is quite abrupt, considering I only met her last week, but honestly, I don't know what I would do without her! This is true love, I'm telling you! And so then, neither of our families are coming for the wedding, it's going to be a simple ceremony. I actually wasn't going to tell you about it until I came to Egypt to kidnap you tomorrow morning. Luckily, you are here now."

"What about your job? You can't exactly tell her that you track dark wizards for a living! And don't try to tell me you are getting a muggle job, that's just stupid and you aren't trained to do anything else. You are barely fit to be around muggles as it is!"

"I'm telling her that I'm a police officer, that's pretty much the muggle term for auror. It's not a lie!"

"It's not the truth!"

"It's close enough! Look, I love this girl, we are getting married, and don't ruin this for me! Honestly, Teddy, this is my Elaine, this is my Victoire Weasley, this is my person!" pleaded Orion, momentarily forgetting that he didn't think Elaine and James and Victoire and Teddy belonged together.

"Fine, I'll be your best man, you're crazy, but somehow, I don't think you are that crazy to just marry a random girl. She should at least be a good shag, and if she thinks you're a police officer, the divorce shouldn't cost you that much…"

"TEDDY! THIS IS MY FUTURE WIFE YOU ARE INSULTING!" shouted Orion, jumping to his feet angrily. Teddy backed down immediately, which led to Orion relaxing with the next comment. "Besides, if you decided not to be in my wedding, I might just spill to James that you slept with his drunk cousin, and then left in the morning without even telling her who you really were. You morphed like the wimp you are!" Teddy's eyes grew wide and Orion grinned.

"I just had to give you the blackmail before you told me..."

* * *

The small ceremony took place in a muggle courthouse in downtown Paris. There were no decorations, although the sole bridesmaid was wearing a beautiful blue and silver dress, and Lia wore a beautiful wedding dress. The bride and groom both seemed extraordinarily happy, and were grinning at each other the entire ceremony. It was obviously a love match to the judge presiding over their vows. The two men, Eddie Lupin and Ryan Black, as they were being called for the wedding, smiled with Patty and Lia for the pictures. Afterward, they all went to a fancy muggle restaurant.

Upon arriving at the muggle restaurant, Lia and Patty headed for the bathroom to 'powder their noses.'

"That Lupin guy is ridiculously good looking!" exclaimed Patty.

"Have you ever thought there was more to life than being really ridiculously good looking?" asked Lia sarcastically at her friend who was reapplying lippy. "I can't believe I'm Mrs. Black. Of course, it wasn't the wedding I always pictured, large, ostentatious, my da walking me down the aisle. But, we can't have everything. Now, I just have to owl them and tell them I can't marry the Rousseau boy."

"Yes, well, you're welcome for being allowed to wear my wedding dress, but I want it back, no stains. No nothing!" whined her friend.

"Yes of course, you're the best friend ever! Thank goodness we're the same size."

"It almost looks better on you," pouted the blond.

"Hmm… well the bridesmaid dress actually DOES look better on you. Don't think I don't know that."

"When I'm the bride, so I can't very well have you outshine me at my wedding," laughed the bridesmaid.

"Hmm, well you're lucky I'm so beautiful, that I wasn't worried about you today, even if you are part veela!"

"Yes, well, that groomsman friend of your husband is H.O.T. hot."

"Cool it, you're getting married in a matter of weeks," laughed her friend.

**Hope you liked it... Please please please review. For those of you who don't know my other stories, do try and read them... so you understand the whole thing that's going on with Teddy and Victoire, read My Heart Forever Lies in London. To hear about James and Elaine, his new wife, try Marauders Class of 2018, that is also where you really meet Orion, Murphy, and Teddy, and James... fun fun. well anyways, hope you liked their wedding, next chapter jumps back to the time of the marriage counseling appointment. (For those of you who have read my other stories, do you know things? I've been building up who Lia is for a while now...) Please review! I'll update when I can, but in the meantime, try my other stories. Vote on my poll again if you want me to update this story before I update Can You Keep A Secret?. Thanks for all the awesome reviews! **

**Elaine**


	3. Five or Six Months Later

Orion frowned into his black coffee. He was currently standing in front of the big white house he had purchased in a muggle neighborhood. He was wearing a long white robe, one that was actually accepted in the muggle community, and waiting for a paper he wouldn't be reading. However, he had to pretend to like to read it… usually he just read the funnies. He watched his neighbor across the wide street dragging out the trash. He usually vanished their trash to the garbage dump if he could find the time without Lia noticing. The newspaper delivery boy was walking toward his house at an alarmingly slow pace today. He just hoped his neighbor didn't try to talk to him about football again, he didn't understand the stupid muggle sport. All he understood was that goals were only worth one measly point and there was only one ball. Boring.

Upstairs, Lia frowned as she rolled out of bed, checking the time, dashing to the shower, she tried to hurry. Getting out of the shower, she ran, naked and still soaked from the shower to her closet, reaching into a magically hidden drawer for her wand. Waving it quickly, the trail of water and her body dried, as did her hair, styling it magically, something she refused to give up. Shoving the wand back into her secret hiding spot, she grabbed her own long white robe and dashed into the bathroom.

Picking up her toothbrush, she turned on the water and acted nonchalant as her husband walked into the bathroom. He brushed his long black hair out of his eyes gracefully and picked up his toothbrush. An unbearable silence ensued as the pair wearing their matching robes brushed their teeth, finally, Lia broke it.

"So what did you think of Dr. Boucher?" she asked after spitting.

"He seems very nice," replied Ryan.

"Very nice, nice manner," agreed Lia.

"Yes, very nice manner, but are his questions a bit, wishy washy?"

"His office is all the way across town."

"The four o'clock appointment time means we hit traffic, and we both have to take off early from work to be there."

"Good, then it's settled," said Lia, spitting a final time and setting her toothbrush in its cup. Ryan looked up at her for the first time that morning, seeming startled.

Lia went to her closet, discreetly opening her wand compartment and hiding the long piece of wood in her purse, pulled on a pair of scrubs and stashed a pair of shrunken healer robes inside her purse. Sweeping out of her closet, she looked to Ryan who was dressed in a pair of black pants, a white button up shirt, black vest, and was holding a black briefcase in his hands. Together, they walked down the stairs, passing the nonmoving pictures with disinterest. At the foot of the stairs, they both grabbed their respective coats and swung them over their shoulders as they walked to the front door.

Ryan held the door open for her, and Lia passed through with a murmur of thanks, crossing the neat footpath and driveway into the garage which Ryan clicked open with the clicker in his pocket.

Lia walked to her car while Ryan crossed to his motorcycle. Getting into the white convertible, she let the top down and started the car while he put on his helmet. With a slight nod, she pulled out of the driveway first, turning right while he followed before turning left. Driving down the street, she picked up speed, watching in the rearview mirror until the black motorcycle and rider disappeared. Pressing a purple button, she felt the slimy cracked egg feeling of a disalusionment charm wash over her. Smiling, she adjusted gears and felt the car, now invisible to others, take off into the sky like a broom.

Meanwhile, Orion had already kicked his motorcycle off the ground, and his own invisibility spell was preventing muggle eyes from observing him. Looking down to check his watch, he stepped on the gas, ten minutes to make it to auror headquarters, park on the roof, and then make it down to his floor.

Shoving his bike helmet under his arm, Orion bolted from the roof as soon as he landed. Rushing down the seven flights of stairs, he couldn't help but think this was quite the morning work out. Huffing, he made it to his level, rushing in just as the clock chimed.

"Mr. Black," said his boss in a whiney voice. "I can't help but notice you are _right_ on time, not a minute early."

"Well, I had to get my morning work out, Sir," quipped Orion with a cocky grin as he looked pointedly at his boss's protruding belly. "I wouldn't want to become fat," he said making a private pun at the name for his department, the French Auror Team, commonly acronymed FAT. Stupid bloody French didn't even realize what the acronym meant in English. Or that it was ironically true about many in the department.

"Yes, yes, here are your files for today, and do try to make some progress on that Prumbrach case," said his boss with a roll of his eyes.

* * *

Lia waved her wand in a wide arc, casting a cleaning spell on the mess she had made while cooking tonight's dinner, a delicious baked lamb dish with potatoes, corn, green beans, and a red caramelized cranberry sauce. And of course French rolls. It smelled delicious. Looking around the kitchen one last time, she checked for anything that was still magical, the dishes had finished washing themselves ages ago, the broom she had stopped, and well that seemed to be all. Going into the living room, she looked at the new curtains she had purchased today, they were perfect, much better than the depressing drape things they had had before.

She would have to hang those before Ryan got home. Improvising with a dressing spell she had learned at Bauxabatons, she shot a quick spell at the curtains which were folded on the table and they flew off to dress themselves on the window. Hopefully they hung themselves straight. She hummed along with the wireless as one of her favorite Harmonious Hags songs came on. With a flick of her wand, Lia turned it up a bit and continued with finishing up the dinner, using her wand to levitate the dishes in from the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Orion landed with a thud on the wet driveway, waiting until he had turned off the motor on his bike before making it visible. Looking at the house, he checked to see that Lia wasn't watching from any of the windows and made himself visible. Opening the garage door with a nonverbal spell, he wheeled his bike into the dark dry room. Doing a quick spell, his rain-matted hair became fresh. Shoving his wand deep into the specially made pocket on his pants, he dashed for the kitchen door.

Walking in he shook himself off and glanced around the empty kitchen. Shrugging off his leather jacket, Orion decided to head into the living room where he could hear music over the dull sound of the rain outside. "Lia?" he called.

The music screeched to a halt and Orion could hear a soft clatter. Hurrying a bit, he entered the living room to find Lia looking flustered. Some of the dinner plates were in their places, but a few were crammed onto the edge of the table. Lia on the other hand was perched precariously on a stack of encyclopedias that looked as if they would fall over any second while she adjusted the window hangings.

"Ryan!" she exclaimed upon seeing him, a worried look on her face.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed, seeing the three foot stack of books that looked about as ready to fall over as James' grandparent's house, which was pretty unstable looking.

"I… I didn't hear you drive up," she said. "I didn't realize you would be home so early."

"I'm right on time," he said lifting her off the stack of books with a frown. "You could hurt yourself you know."

"I got new curtains," she said as if to explain herself.

"What was wrong with the old ones?" he said as she went over to the table and began putting the dishes in their appropriate spots on the table.

"Don't you like the new ones?"

"Ehh…" he said in non committal way as he hung his jacket in the hall closet. "I liked the old ones, that's all."

"Well, I like these, and they are staying," she said gesturing to the newly hung curtains.

"Yes, well, I'm starving, what's for dinner then," he said changing the subject from the curtains but making a mental note that he would have to charm them to be flame resistant and spell retardant and non magically tamperable. A huge hassel, just because she wanted new sodding drapes.

"Oh, baked lamb with the caramelized cranberry sauce you like," replied his beautiful wife. He smiled, she put so much effort into making dinner every night, the muggle way, so he always found some way to try and be appreciative. Dinner growing up was taken for granted as delicious with his mum shooting spells around the kitchen and the house elves helping as much as she would let them. And it wasn't that hard, simply a few well timed spells and dinner turned out great every night.

Sitting down, Orion looked across the table at the beautiful muggle who had created this meal and felt his stomach drop with dread. What were they going to talk about?- certainly not the dragon traffickers he had busted this afternoon. Picking up his fork and knife, he gently cut into the meet, desperately seeking conversation. If Lia was James or one of his guy friends, he could make off color jokes, chat about pranks, women. However, Lia was a well bred lady, no inappropriate jokes, she didn't know about magic so pranks were out, and well... she was the woman he would probably be talking about. Quidditch, out, along with any muggle sports he didn't understand. Every night it seemed that the stream of ideas was the same, and almost every night he settled on the same conversation topic.

"Mmm, this baked lamb is to die for, you do something new?" he asked, once again turning the conversation to their food, and an inane question about it. Yesterday's question had to have been the worst, asking if she had planned the food to be arranged in the perfect shape of a face. He had even pointed out what he thought was the nose.

"I marinated it in honey," stated Lia in a bored voice.

"It's amazing," he said, trying to let the conversation linger a bit longer before lapsing into an ever awkward silence.

"How was work?" she conceded, asking the hoped for yet dreaded question. Now to the lies.

"Ah, it was a pretty productive day. I finally tracked down this pair of…. exotic animal dealers that I had been after for a while."

"Exotic animal dealers?" asked Lia with a frown line appearing on her forhead.

"Errr… crocodiles and pandas," said Orion. "They were selling them as housepets."

"Oh," said Lia. "That sounds nice, do you think you'll make the paper?"

"Perhaps," mumbled Orion, not wanting to tell her that it wasn't bloody likely he would ever make her paper. However, it would probably make the front page of the Herald tomorrow. He always kept any clippings that mentioned him, and once there had even been a picture of him on page five after arresting a dark hitwizard.

"How was your day?" he asked after another awkward pause.

Lia grimaced. She had spent the day in wonderful bliss until a detail of dragon catchers had shown up with some of the worst bites and burns she had ever seen. Apparently they had retrieved several dragons which had been involved in an illicit operation and had been treated horribly. The abused animals hadn't taken well to being rescued, and the result wasn't pretty. Her patient in particular had needed a lot of work.

"I had a patient who was mauled by a…. bear," she said. "It wasn't pretty…. and I'm eating." She dropped the subject. Once again the silence engulfed them, so loud in its quietness that it was unbearable for Orion.

"Could you pass the salt please?" he asked nicely.

"It's in the middle of the table, Ryan," she replied without looking up.

"Is that the middle?" Orion couldn't help but ask.

"It's between you and me. You're on one side, and I'm on the other," stated Lia. Both looked at each other for a second, individually realizing how true those words were, but not in the sense she had meant them. Each ate the rest of their dinner in silence to the slight tinkling of silverware, both pondering their marriage, how there seemed to be a wall between them. Each believing themselves to be on the wizarding side of things while their partner lay on the muggle side of the world, entirely unable to relate.

RING! RING! Both occupants of the table jumped violently, looking to the mysterious phone on the kitchen wall in the next room. "It's probably for you," said Orion trying to sound like the ringing of the phone was a normal occurrence in his life. Elaine had painstakingly taught him to use it correctly, and the office was instructed to call him on it, if he was needed at night now, but really he hated the confoundit thing.

"Yes, I had a patient, it might be that," said Lia thinking of the badly burned patient who she was still likely to be called in for. "Burns," she muttered to herself going to the phone. "Hello," she said picking it up with as much confidence as she could muster, talking into the ridiculously small thing that had to be funny shaped on top of everything. Luckily she had a muggleborn friend, Amy to teach her to use it a few years back. Now she was just putting it into practice a bit more than usual. Still, the entire thing was ridiculous and she refused to get used to it. Floo was so much easier.

Orion watched as she talked on the phone, it was obviously work, she always got calls from them, stiff one sided conversations from which he could never glean the slightest bit of information. It somewhat frustrated the nosey marauder that he couldn't listen to the strange muggle things that his wife must be discussing on the phone for long periods of time. Her side of the conversation was always so vague, 'administer the green one in the round glass vial, yes that one, no I'll come in and do it then.'

However, as she talked irritatedly to the inferior on the other end of the phone, he decided now would be a good time to whip out his wand and clear the dinner mess, this way he wouldn't have to do it the muggle way, and he could make her happy that he was doing some work around the house. There was a slight tapping on the window, and he turned to see a ministry owl with a letter in it's beak. Frowning he hurried to the window and threw it open, snatching the letter and shooing the owl away. Sending out a patronous that informed them once again not to send him owls at home due to the nature of his muggle wife, he scanned the letter. Tip off on a case he had been working on for the past few weeks, it could be a big break through and they needed him to go in undercover. Suddenly Lia was behind him, causing Orion to jump and stuff the paper into his pocket. She absently shut the window that he had left open after the owl arrived.

"Bad news, I need to go into the hospital," said Lia with a pout.

"That's fine darling, one of our guys went in for an operation and needs back up, I should go in too," said Orion holding up the little mini phone as if he had just gotten a call on it. Lia nodded, grabbing her coat and pulling up her hair as she walked out the door.

* * *

"_Ohh, that Orion Black is so handsome!" exclaimed Nurse Nelson to herself._

"_Oh really Rebecca, I don't know how you have time to read that rag!" exclaimed Lia picking up several books of charts from the desk._

"_Healer Black!" exclaimed the nurse shoving the glossy paged magazine under her desk._

"_Ohhh I know, how can I possibly not want to read up on France's most eligible elite pure blooded hotties? I'm a married woman now," retorted Lia. _

"_Yeah, to a mixed up muggle," mumbled Rebecca rolling her eyes at her superior's eccentric lifestyle. _

"_Better than an arranged marriage to that prat you're reading about!" sighed Lia, checking over the chart notes she had made earlier. She needed to go to the potionry to prescribe a different burn salve. _

"_I'll have you know that Orion Black is a very handsome, very brave, very talented and intelligent Auror. And, I'll also have you know, that it's rumored he is involved- married to… a muggle."_

"_Oh for goodness sake!" exclaimed Lia sarcastically. "How dare he! A Muggle, what is this world coming to!"_

"_I know," sighed Rebecca flicking open the magazine to a large picture of the auror in topic, smiling at the picture. "I could have been Mrs. Orion Black," she said wistfully._

"_Stupid British celebrity… what he came to France for… I'll never know…" mumbled Lia irritably heading to potionry._

* * *

"**Sorry we had to call you in, but apparently Demitrov got assigned one bitch of a healer and can't get out of the hospital until tomorrow. We had to call someone else in to get in on his shift," said Jacques, one of the FATs. **

"**Bloody healers," commented Orion munching on a pastry. "Don't know how two of my best friends ended up with them. I mean, I guess I understand Teddy and Vic, she's bloody gorgeous, and I guess James liked El before the whole St. Mungo's thing. But honestly, couldn't they have done better than those obnoxious little nurse types that suck the fun out of everything."**

"**Aren't you married to one of those types? What do muggles call them? Oh, doctors… I believe that overprotective healers and overly attentive doctors are synonymous."**

"**There is a difference, you can't even compare Lia to those vampires. Besides, I highly doubt muggle cures are as vile as wizarding ones."**

"**Come on, hospitals and healers aren't that bad. They patched me up real good the last time I had to go in with that nasty appendage rearranging curse," replied Jacques.**

"**I swear to Merlin, if I ever end up in that hell hole, you better make sure I get the damn sexiest Healer in the whole place and that I'm out of there in enough time to get home to my little muggle missus by six. That's dinner time you know."**

"**Yeah, yeah, Black. Whatever you say."**

Yeah, I finally updated. I'm actually updating most of my stories in case you're a fan of any of my other works. From here, I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this, but its not quite so similar to the movie. Please review so I know to update faster. I really do appriciate reviews, that's what spurred me to finally update some of my fanfictions after so long. Once again sorry for the wait, Ellie A


	4. The Silence and Secrets that Separate

**The muse was good for this story so I wrote randomly this afternoon. This sort of wrote itself, and it's a bit different than my usual stuff, so tell me what you think. Next chapters will have more humor and less mystery. Hopefully my creativity stays with me for updates on my other stories. I'm back in school and time is sparse, but I am not abandoning anyone! Hope you like this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW!**

Orion ran a hand through his messy black hair. Heaving a sigh, he ruffled through the papers on his desk unhappily. Mr. Potter had been hinting recently that there was little work left for him in France and it might be time to start thinking about getting a transfer back to the UK. This pretty much confirmed that his last assignment would be finished in the next month. He had always known that working for the French Aurors was a temporary thing, but he was starting to question how temporary it really was. He had Lia here, he was building a life, and he's wasn't entirely unhappy either. He looked at a picture he had of the two of them at their favorite coffee shop where they had their first date. He glanced at the one behind it, of Murphy, James, Teddy, and himself when they moved into the Shrieking Shack.

Besides, returning to England would mean he would have to face James, who unfortunately hadn't spoken to him since Teddy had blown it about Lia. Orion hadn't heard from his best friend in over two months, and James had completely ignored him at Teddy's wedding despite the fact that they stood next to each other and sat at the same table all night at the reception. Maybe if he sent him a letter and apologized, invited him and Elaine over for dinner, rang his bell and begged for mercy on his knees…

"Black, class three disturbance in district ten," barked one of the senior Aurors handing him a set of papers and a portkey. "Take care of it." He was whisked away before he could protest.

Landing abruptly in a dingy street, Orion quickly took in his surroundings and pulled his wand out of his pocket. It was a muggle area, so he would need to be careful, glancing at the paper, he immediately knew why he was there. Using a spell that revealed magical beings in the area, he allowed himself to be directed toward the nearby warehouse. Casting a disillusionment charm as he tested the wards, he deemed it safe to enter, stealthily entering through one of the few windows and landing himself in a small office.

Taking a few moments to rift through the files in the room, he was glad that the French Ministry didn't require the use of search warrants in cases like these. He vanished the papers back to the office with a feeling of disgust for the people who ran this organization, allowing this emotion to help prepare him for what he knew must come next.

Holding his wand aloft, he opened the door of the office gently, knowing he was still disillusioned. Trying not to take in the gruesome scenery around him, he focused on observing the important things. There were by the looks of it in the office, only four wizards involved in the operation, and as luck would have it, all four of them happened to be in for work today. He heaved a sigh, would it have been too much to ask for one of them to have called in sick?

The first one, he immediately dismissed. He was young, too young, and seemed like he was more concerned with playing with the merchandise than anything else. There were two in a corner, one looking to be heavily into his cups, even this early in the day, and the other looked bored. Both were involved in a game of cards that had the look of having gone stale two days ago. Orion zeroed his attention in on the fourth, for this was obviously the brains and brawn of the operation, the silent observer who had stationed himself in the prime position of the room to see all. His eyes were brightly alert and Orion could almost hear the thoughts in his head from across the room. His wand was deceptively lax in his hand, and Orion knew that this was the force he would have to deal with first. Or perhaps last.

Sliding along the edges of the large room, the auror finally made it to the small card table. Still disillusioned, he silently sprinkled a clear powder into the two cups on the table after creating a mild distraction across the room involving a sudden appearance of a stray dog, that he happened to know used to be a crate. Now for the wait.

It wasn't five minutes before both men had drifted off into dreamland, leaving Orion to deal with the remaining two. Placing himself exactly half way between the leader, the ruthless looking brunette, and the much too young to be of any consequence blond, Orion shot off his first spell, a stunner that hit the blond successfully and knocked him out cold but also alerted the leader.

As Orion had expected, the man fired off three or four spells in his direction in rapid succession. He was good. Meanwhile, Orion had transformed into his canine form, looking now like the self same dog that had created the distraction earlier. Around him, the many inhabitants of the room were cowering in fear of the magic around them, and he slunk toward the man who was now on alert and just perhaps realizing that his other two cronies had been drugged.

Taking a risk, Orion began barking, in the direction of the door, having cast a spell earlier that would cause the door to slam, the wizard seeing and hearing the dog and the door immediately abandoned his position of relative safety that overlooked the entire room and began sprinting toward the door. As the man's wide back turned to him, Orion transformed back into himself and cast his most powerful stunner at the man who fell with a heavy thud.

Spending the next five minutes tying up all four of the criminals, he bundled them together to a portkey that would take them directly, with plenty of paperwork, into high security custody. In his opinion, their ilk should never see the light of day again. This done, he looked around himself miserably. What a mess for the obliviators and the muggle relations department. All these poor women, he thought looking at the squalor around him and the dozens of frightened eyes observing him and his wand with apprehension. If there was one type of criminal that Orion despised above all others, it was the kind that exploited muggles, and at the top of that list was the muggle women traffickers that sold these women into muggle and wizarding slavery abroad. Whenever he heard of cases like this, which had admitted were rare, he couldn't help but think of what he would do if something like this happened to Lia, a defenseless muggle woman against Wizards twice her size with magic on their side to take advantage of her. He couldn't stand the thought without going into a rage, and thus pushed it aside.

The healers would arrive any minute now with the obliviators, but before he left, Orion could resist a massive scorgifying charm in an attempt to make the situation a little less horrible for the many victims who would soon be more horrified than even now. As the bubbles glided over the surfaces and materials of the room, cleaning even hair and clothes, Orion cleared his throat loudly.

"I'm Special Agent Black with French Law enforcement," he said in French before repeating himself in English. "Medical personnel and other staff will be here shortly to care for your needs, please do not be afraid, we are here to help you recover and return to your families and former lives. Any of you who are physically injured, please wait for someone to come to you, those of you who are fit and able, please assist the Medical staff in locating these people. Does anyone know how many there are of you?"

"One hundred and thirty seven," said an older woman who seemed to have stood up and exuded a role of leadership.

"Dear Merlin," mutter Orion heaving a sigh as he heard numerous pops indicating that the healers and obliviators were arriving. "I'll be leaving now, and I wish all of you the best now that this nightmare is hopefully near over for all of you."

"Sir!" said the older woman. "Are you one of them?" Orion knew what she was asking but merely replied.

"All you need to know is that I'm one of the good guys."

* * *

"Healer Black! Healer Black! I've got another one over here!" Antlia rushed over to the pile of rags where a young woman, no more than a girl really lay cuddled up. Someone had obviously tried to pack the wound on her head with dirty rags to stop the bleeding, but the cut was deep and now infected. There were bruises on her bared arms, and one looked to be broken, jutting at an angle abnormal to human anatomy and swollen as to resemble a distended balloon.

Muttering spells and flicking her wand, Lia fought back tears at the thought of what these defenseless women had gone through before today. Some claimed to have been in the warehouse for weeks, and if what one of them had said, the warehouse had been absolutely filthy along with all of its inhabitants until the auror on the case had somehow cleaned everything. Impressive cleaning charm if she did say so herself.

"Black," rasped the woman she was helping.

"Yes, I'm Dr. Black, I'm going to help you," she said gently as she dabbed potion on the infected wound. It would take much longer to heal now that the infection had progressed so far. It was a miracle the woman was alert.

"He said you would, he said you were the good guys," said the girl with a slight smile.

"Who said that?" asked Antlia, trying to distract her patient as she prepared to set the girl's arm, which would be painful.

"Your husband, the officer who saved us," answered the girl, wincing but not crying out in pain as Antlia set her arm. Perhaps it was from habit, or perhaps she was just strong.

"Oh, he's not my husband," answered Lia as she bandaged the arm tightly.

"You said your name was Black, his name was Black, I'm sorry, I saw your ring," answered the patient. "I just assumed. You're both so nice too."

Lia's brow came together a bit. She had never met Black, but she had always assumed things about him, and nice wasn't one of the traits she would have thought to attribute to him. Perhaps since he had a muggle wife, he was sympathetic to these muggles, imagining each one of them could have been someone like his wife. She never really gave him much thought though, even to the fact that since she married, they now shared a last name. How odd.

* * *

As much as he wanted to hurry home, the massive amounts of paperwork from the morning kept Orion at the office until his usual hour, but rather than the usual ride home, he turned his bike into a portkey and landed directly in the garage. Hurrying into the house, he rushed through the kitchen that was devoid of the normal smells and found himself in the parlor, holding Lia to him.

"I missed you so much today," he said pulling her to him and smelling the wonderful herbal smell of her hair that reminded him of a greenhouse or apothecary. He had been holding her almost an entire minute before he realized she was crying. "Are you crying?"

"I'm alright, I just, I didn't expect you home so soon, I had a horrible day at work, and I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled, still stunned that he was here.

"I had a horrible day too. There was a gruesome case, and I kept worrying about you, and I just had to…" he paused as she was crying even harder now.

"I missed you today too," she whispered as she held him tightly. It was moments like these that they both wished they could confide in the other. But it was also moments like these when they remembered just how much they loved each other and why they got married in the first place. It made all those awkward moments and secrets worthwhile to have your other half hold you reassuringly after a traumatizing day at work.

After the tears had subsided and they were finally content to let each other go, Orion realized what else was odd about his homecoming. "Would you like to order take out?" he asked, realizing that his wife had been too upset to even cook dinner.

"We have the dinner party with the Merchants tonight," replied Lia with a small frown.

"Are you going to be alright to go?" asked Ryan smoothing her hair gently.

"I promised Clara we would be there."

So an hour later, they were waiting for Clara or her husban

* * *

d Jacques to answer the door. Orion was dressed in his usual black pants, blue shirt, slightly askew tie, and slightly more askew hair. Lia was as usual the perfect picture of beauty and grace in a pale blue dress that reminded her of her Bauxbatons days.

As soon as the door opened, they were engulfed in a sea of muggles, being bombarded with greetings. Smiling, they both entered the room, the picture perfect couple that no one in the room would have guessed were practically crying in each others arms as they concealed dire secrets about their true selves from each other.

"I hear their stock is falling off into nothing," commented Jacques as he and several of the men stood in the study smoking cigars and drinking. "And interest on loans is going through the roof!"

"It's a bloodbath! How did you make out this quarter Ryan? Did you take a beating?" asked Jean.

"Actually I have goblins to guard all my money," answered Orion absently watching his wife causing the other men to laugh at his joke. Lia was sitting across the hall in the parlor with the other women and the many babies. He wondered if she wanted one. They hadn't really discussed it yet, but it was obvious she loved children. But what would he do when the child was magical?

"Lia, will you hold Viola?" said Claudia after the five month old spit up on her clothes.

"No… I…" Lia looked uncertain as Claudia dropped the child in her arms and flitted off to the loo. Lia smiled at the little girl. How would Ryan react if she became pregnant? She of course wanted children, at least two or three, but the idea of having to cover up accidental magic, or eventually send them off to school. What would she tell him? Could she ever broach the subject?

Smiling at the little girl, she contemplated what a child of hers and Ryan's would look like. Obviously it would have dark hair, silvery eyes, maybe a bit on the blue side like hers. She was sure it would be a much better looking child than the chubby wrinkley faced bald girl she was holding. But, she was sure as a mother, she would be biased no matter if hers was the ugliest troll ever born.

She looked up at Ryan across the haze of the cigar smoke in the study that slowly leaked out into the hall. She gave the baby a slight bounce on her lap and he smiled at her. Maybe a baby would be a good thing. Something to fill the canyon of secrets and silence that seemed to separate them.

**Thanks for reading Please review! Inspire me to update this and my other stories faster! **

**Elaine**


	5. The Truth, Veritaserum Required

**Hope you like this chapter. I know I have updated this fic in a while, but as promised here it is. If you read all my stories, expect annother update (probably Can You Keep a Secret) this weekend! Please Review! I really appriciate it! **

"See you at six, darling," said Ryan giving his wife a brief peck on the cheek as they walked to their separate vehicles.

"I'm making your favorite, don't be late, love," replied Lia getting into her car and backing out before her husband. After all, ladies first.

Orion took off in the opposite direction, activating the flight mechanism and disillusionment charms quickly, he couldn't be late today, he had made some major progress on the Prumbrach case lately. Today seemed like a good day for a raid after all.

* * *

Healer Antlia Black was not having the best day. She had been once again badgered with floo calls from her mother, demanding that if she wasn't going to dissolve her ridiculous marriage to a muggle, the least she could do was bring him over to the manor for diner sometime. It wasn't exactly fair that he hadn't been introduced to the family. Her mother seemed to think that if she harassed her about twice a month, Antlia would eventually give in and bring over her new husband. While it was annoying, it wasn't exactly working.

On top of that, the FATs had decided that this wonderful stormy June day was an excellent one for a raid on one of the top gangs of mobsters in the country. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't, and although it had been a successful raid and Cisseran Prumbrach was now in custody, several of them were in with middle to severe injuries. With eight new admits on her floor, she was more than a little too busy to deal with her mother.

* * *

"Fuuuck," moaned Orion as he came to. Opening his eyes slowly, he flicked his eyes around the room, immediately registering that he was in the hospital. Never turn your back on the wife when you're arresting her husband. At least Madame Prumbrach would be in prison with her husband now.

"Ahh, someone's finally awake!" came an overly cheerful voice from the door.

"What time is it?" he asked, panicked and looking to the window to try and gage the time of day.

"A quarter to five, my my, the tabloid pictures aren't doing you justice," answered the nurse tapping her wand on his arm taking his vitals. "You've had quite the bang on the head Monsieur Black. Healer Montagu would like to keep you overnight for observation."

"I can't stay overnight, Nurse-Rebecca, I have to get home to my wife."

"Ah, so the rumors are true, married man! Well I'm sure your wife would be more than happy to visit you, we'll owl her immediately."

"No, she's a muggle, you don't understand, I have to be released immediately so I can be home in time for dinner! I can't be late!"

"I think you bonked your head harder than we thought, we can't have you running out of here so soon, Healer Montagu left explicit orders that you remain under observation until tomorrow morning."

"I want a second opinion! Bring in Potter or Lupin! Elaine and Victoire both owe me, they'll release me."

"Who?"

"Oh bloody HELL! I HATE FRANCE! How quick can I get a transfer to St. Mungo's? I'm sure they'll let me out immediately! I've had worse bumps and bruises before!"

"MR. BLACK! Sit down immediately! You were hit by a severe stunning curse and are lucky you don't have brain damage from slamming into that wall! You broke several bones in your rib cage, your left hand, and your left arm."

"Well obviously my brain isn't damaged enough to forget my wife is going to be bloody pissed if I'm not home in time for dinner! She worries about me! I have to see her! I have to make sure she's okay today!" exclaimed Orion, worrying about Lia was a daily thing, but with her being a muggle, he assumed it was worse than other husbands. "Please! She's a muggle."

"I'll see what other healers are still here. Healer Black might be sympathetic, her husband's a muggle you know. She married him to get out of the arranged marriage with you, you know! Funny how those things don't work out sometimes despite all the careful planning by parents." The nurse gave him a wink before leaving the room. He laid his head back on the pillow, his head hurt quite a bit, and his left side was pretty tender. Damn Madame Prumbach to a dragon's breath hellfire.

* * *

"I really don't have time for this Rebecca, I promised I would make my husband's favorite dinner tonight, and that does include dessert you know! I was supposed to leave five minutes ago, and I really don't have time to discharge some up on himself auror who doesn't know when to back down and rest up. Chart-" a familiar voice wafted into the room from the open doorway as Orion lay on his back waiting for a healer. "Orion Black, Auror. Age 20, 1.9 meters, 91 Kg, English, Hogwarts Graduate, long list of previous injuries, married to Lia…"

"Lia?" Orion said with some shock as his wife walked into the room wearing teal healer robes over a set of navy scrubs. Her silky dark hair was pulled back, and she held a wand in one hand, clipboard in the other. He couldn't help flashing back to the first time he set eyes on her, thinking her the most beautiful alluring creature he had ever set eyes on. The sentiment hadn't changed, but at this moment, all he could feel was fury.

"Discharge him, Rebecca. I have to go home, dinner you know doesn't cook itself."

"Well if Antlia Black says you can go, I guess you can go, she's our strictest healer you know!" exclaimed a flabbergasted Nurse Rebecca. "If you'll sign here and here, and here. Your effects are in this bin here, and look, they've even had your clothes cleaned!"

"I'm delusional, I'm delusional!" muttered Lia Black as she pulled the roast out of the oven. "It wasn't him, it wasn't him," she repeated softly as she drizzled sauce onto the roast.

"How many more papers can there possibly be!" demanded Orion impatiently as he finished tying his boots and made another attempt to get out of the stuffy hospital room. Now he was worried, impatient, and angry.

"Just the one," replied the discharge Healer as Orion bolted from the room. "I want that guy's wife."

"I want to be her…" sighed Rebecca.

* * *

It was almost seven by the time Orion pulled his motorcycle into the driveway. The kitchen light was off and showed no sign of Lia, but her car was in the garage. Pulling into the garage, he surreptitiously patted the concealed pocket of his pants containing his wand. Forcing himself to contain his temper he headed to the house.

Opening the side door, he caught a whiff of his favorite smells, roast, pie, Lia, and a thought occurred to him, once again forcing him to check his temper. Suddenly Lia appeared, wiping her hands on her apron before loosening the strings to take it off and reveal the lovely little black dress she wore under it. "Perfect timing," she said with what appeared to be a strained smile.

"Perfect as always," he replied with what he hoped was a pleasant grin.

"Well, welcome home, darling," she said giving him the usual kiss in greeting, but this time it seemed forced, suspicious.

She gently took his hand and pulled him toward the dining room where he saw his favorite meal laid out on a candle lit table.

"You did all this for me? Did I forget what day it is or something? My birthday? Your Birthday? A national holiday?" said Orion suspiciously.

"I missed you," replied his wife in explanation as she pulled out a chair and indicated he should sit.

"I missed you too, luv," he said walking around the table and instead pulling out her chair so she could sit first. She walked around the table with a slight smile and sat before he too followed suit. Reaching forward, he grabbed the plate of precut meat, and fished out the pieces he wanted with a large fork, before passing the plate across the somewhat lengthy table so his wife could reach it.

Spooning potatoes onto his plate while eyeing the corn, he commented, "Mmm, pot roast, my favorite."

Lia smiled tightly, seeming to watch his movements closer than usual before she abruptly rose and went into the kitchen. "I forgot to pour your wine, darling." She filled his empty goblet with a grin before returning the bottle to the kitchen. As he watched her reemerge, he couldn't help but notice a small empty vial next to the wine.

"How was work?" he asked, surreptitiously reaching for his wand as he lifted the glass to his lips, smelling it carefully as he did.

"Ohhh, same old, same old… Actually there was a slight problem with a patient," she said after some thought. She took a gulp of wine as if steeling herself for something.

"A problem? What does that mean? Is he the coroner's problem now?" Orion too took a drink of wine, grinning.

"He wishes," Lia answered flippantly.

"That's good, problem solved then."

"Not yet, but don't worry. It's nothing I can't handle."

"Alright… Well this is great? Did you do something different with the roast?"

"You always ask if I did.."

"I just always forget how good it is," interrupted Orion apologetically.

"Are you sure you don't want any salt with it, Ryan?"

"I'm good, Lia." He said, taking another large gulp of wine, watching her smile as he did.

"So tell me, how was your day?"

"We had an important bust, I got knocked out and ended up in the hospital just as we were making the arrests."

"Ohh, how do you feel now, and do you think you'll be in the paper?"

"I feel fine, and yes, I might make the paper."

"Really, well you'll have to point out any article that comes out," she said with a grin finishing her wine.

"What I was wondering is where you were today? I was at your hospital and asked for Doctor Black."

"Oh, well I lied when I said I worked there," said Lia quickly before slapping her hand across her mouth.

"What did you put in my wine, luv?" he asked. A deadly hint to his voice.

"Truth Serum," was the strangled reply.

"You should be thankful that's all you dropped in there considering I switched our glasses," said Orion with a steel glint in his eye, rising from the table and forgetting about dessert.

"I was fresh out of draught of the living dead," snapped Lia sarcastically, also getting up and making a move toward the hem of her dress.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the terrible side effects of falling in love with one's self," said Orion pulling out his wand just as she managed to slip hers out from under her dress.

A hurt look crossed her face. "You think… love potion?" she somewhat stuttered.

"Have you or have you not ever given me a potion without my knowledge?" demanded Orion, knowing she was still under the influence of the veristerium.

"YES!" she said, her answer causing red sparks to shoot out of his wand as a terrified look crossed her face.

"WHAT!" he roared, and not sure if it was a question or a declaration of war as more sparks flew out the end of his wand, landing on her arm in hot little burns, she did the only thing she could think to do.

*POP*

"LIA! GET BACK HERE!" he yelled, angrier than before, now he'd probably need to go to the hospital and get some antidotes, but at least he knew the feelings of love he felt for her even now, when he was furious with her for lying to him, had more to do with whatever potions she had slipped him than anything real. However, first it might be easier if he could tell the healers exactly what potions had been used. His ears perked, hearing the sound of the garage door rising, and a car starting. With a *POP* of his own, he too abandoned the dining room.

Lia's convertible was already streaking out the driveway as he hopped on his bike and sped out after her.

"My wife a witch… my own goddamn wife!" he muttered to himself as the warm summer evening air hit his face, following the speeding white convertible down the street at a speed that probably wouldn't agree with the muggles.

"He lied to me! TRICKED ME! ARE MY PARENTS IN ON THIS!" exclaimed Lia to herself, pushing the button that caused her car to become invisible to muggle eyes so she could take flight and actually get away from her husband who was approaching quickly in the rear view mirror on his what she used to consider sexy motorbike.

She dropped a gear and hit a red button. Takeoff. "Take that, Orion!" she said, using his real name for the first time ever.

"So that's how we're doing things, huh?" muttered Orion gathering himself and hitting a purple button of his, invisibility to muggles, and flight all in one quick press. Kicking off the ground he continued to gain on her until he pulled level with her on the driver's side. Looking over, he could see tears on her cheeks, not quite managing to mar her beautiful face. The colored lights of the now setting sun setting off her lovely dark hair and making her teardrops look like diamonds.

He reached over and rapped on the window which she seemed to have put up to lessen the wind coming into the car.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She shrieked, swerving away from him, when she realized he had followed her into the sky. He followed her, trying to stay level with her as she made a rude gesture and yelled at him to "buzz off!"

"NO! NOT UNTIL YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH YOU CONIVING, MONEY GRUBBING, CHEATING WITCH!" he shouted back, assured that she had heard him as her eyes widened considerably and her brows narrowed.

The convertible swerved toward him before he realized what she was doing. Knocking into him despite all the cushioning and protective spells that he now realized were probably double on both vehicles due to both of them probably casting them.

"DON'T DENT THE BIKE! DON'T DENT THE FUCKING BIKE!"

"FUCK OFF ORION BLACK!" she screamed back at him, ramming him again, trying to get him away from her.

"GREAT, TRASH EVERY VEHICLE WE OWN WHY DON'T YOU?" he shouted as he regained control over the flight mechanism and sped up. Looking over, he realized she had pulled out her wand. Hitting the breaks, he decided he'd rather take his chances behind her, outside her primary line of vision if she was armed. Women were always creative with hexes… However, as he tailed her, he didn't exactly expect her to hit the breaks midair for some bird. He smashed into her, his wand jetting out a flash of red light on impact that managed to shatter the rear view mirror. Screaming in anger and turning her body in her now hovering car she threw out a round of stunners before jetting off in the car again while Orion on his bike plummeted toward the ground.

Lia quick reparoed her rear view mirror just in time to see her husband and his bike disappear with a flash of blue light before they reached the ground. She had to go somewhere. Anywhere but home.

**Would really love to know what you think. This is where the main plot really kicks in. Please review and I hope you liked it. Happy Friday, and keep a look out for more updates for this and my other stories soon!**

**Elaine**


	6. I thought it was MY lie

**Seven finals done! So thought you guys might like an update to celebrate the end of your semesters and upcoming holidays! Please review!**

Orion landed on his back with a painful thud. He closed his eyes and considered what had just happened before questioning where he even was. Opening his eyes, he realized it was raining slightly and dreary. He must have gone to England. His bike lay a few feet away, luckily not having landed directly on him when it toppled over on impact, but his arm was crushed. He had a painful inkling it was shattered.

Slowly sitting up, he considered that he just left the hospital a few hours ago, and this could possibly be bad for his health. Looking around he cursed. Somehow he had ended up at the perfect yet worst place in the universe he could possibly be. He didn't know how or why his subconscious had decided to create a portkey here, but maybe it was time.

*Ding-Dong*

The door in front of Orion opened slowly, and he was met with a suspicious, angry gaze. "What the hell are you doing here?" James demanded.

"Long story, but if I say I'm sorry, can I come in out of this bloody English weather and explain while Ellie takes care of my arm? I promise I'll try not to bleed on the carpets," said Orion with a sigh as he gestured to his crushed arm and several cuts, which were of course bleeding a good bit.

"What the fuck happened to you?" James said in response opening the door wider.

"My wife," said Orion sweeping past him and into the house, accepting the silent allowance. "Speaking of which, where is Lainey-pooh-beary-bear?"

"Err… I'll go get her… ELLLIE-" said James more than a little unnerved by the blood.

"Right here James. _ You_ can call me Healer Potter," said Elaine Potter entering the room. "You have some nerve showing up here expecting me to heal that, Black."

"Why am I 'Black' and you two are on a first name basis all of a sudden?" quipped Orion as she pulled out her wand and started taking off his shirt to get a look at his arm.

"_Potter_ was getting too confusing," snapped Elaine. "What the hell did you do, Black?"

"Well, my wife shot me out of the sky with fifteen or so stunners. Luckily, I created a portkey with my bike before I could fall to my death, but motorbikes don't make the best portkeys, and this one landed on my arm, and… it has been a rough day." Elaine nodded as he said this. Meanwhile, she managed to heal his bones with a bone mending charm, and most of his cuts with some other minor spells. The effect made Orion look much less gruesome.

"There, that should patch you up. I thought I had taught you not to piss off the greater gender back at Hogwarts?"

"You don't understand, this woman-"

"Poor me, poor me! What are you even here for Orion? You piss off to France and marry some random woman, and I'm supposed to throw you a bloody parade?" James finally burst out, obviously angry now that he had gotten over the concern for his friend's injuries.

"Damn it James! I'm SORRY! I didn't mean to move away, fall in love and get married, and become a hypocrite, and then not invite you to my wedding, and - oo - almost ruin yours. Most of all I'm sorry I destroyed the best friendship I've ever had," Orion said, clearly upset. "I shouldn't have done most of it, and maybe some of this could have been prevented, but I'm stubborn, and I'm stupid, but…. I needed you and pushed you away, and I don't blame you for hating my guts right now. I'll go, thanks Ellie and Belly." He patted Elaine's pregnant stomach with a small smile as she left the room.

Feeling terrible, Orion turned to walk toward the door feeling worse at seeing that look on James' face. "Wait- don't go." Orion turned to see James, looking less betrayed. "You didn't destroy it. And I don't hate your guts," said James with a sigh. "And you hardly ruined my wedding, it was a few drunk comments that no one remembers. Come on Padfoot, this story better be good."

With a rueful smile, the two marauders hugged. "Maybe we should call in reinforcements. How's Teddy doing these days, and am I right that Murphy has a bi-week?"

"I already floo-ed them and they're on their way," said Ellie quietly coming back into the room, having left for the short fight and make up.

"Ellie- you know I'm sorry to you too," said Orion crossing the room. "You're like a sister to me, and I missed you too. Permission to hug?" He looked to James who rolled his eyes as Elaine nearly tackled him.

"Missed you soo much, you're so sweet!"

"CAN'T BREATHE!"

"If you couldn't breathe, you wouldn't be able to talk, Black," chided Ellie as she let him go.

"Too true, but James was giving me a death glare for holding on too long. Besides, I wanted to get a good look at the Ellie-belly. Is that really a little Prongsie growing in there, or did you just let yourself go?"

"PADFOOT!"

"And the real Black's back," said Ellie with a roll of her eyes. "And here I was thinking marriage had changed you. Roughened out the edges, civilized you if you may."

"Nope, still a dog," replied Orion with a crooked smile after a sad look when he thought of his marriage. "But, now that Teddy and Murphy have graced us with their presence, let's break out the booze. I've got quite the story."

An hour later the four men and Ellie sat around the Potters table, the men sharing a large bottle of firewhiskey. James looked like he was trying to digest a hippogriff, Teddy looked stunned, and Murphy looked on the verge of laughter.

"But that's just so…. Implausible…" said James finally.

Orion took a swig of his whiskey.

"No, I mean really. What are the chances of _that_ happening?"

"Well it's happened," said Orion.

"And she was doing this from the start?" asked Teddy suddenly. Orion looked away and buried his head in his hands.

"I cannot believe that woman!" exclaimed James, getting up and stalking around his kitchen.

"How do you suppose she kept it from you all this time?" asked Murphy.

"Lots of couples have secrets," Orion replied. "I mean, I managed to keep it from her."

"No, lots of couples have cats, what you've got is a fucking sphinx," said Teddy. The men nodded and Elaine slowly slunk out of the room. It was obvious they would be bonding for a while, and she could use a good sleep. This parasite was sucking her energy.

"I can't believe she lied to me!" Exclaimed Orion after a few minutes of silence.

"Well, you weren't exactly playing her straight yourself," put in Teddy.

"Says the man of many disguises…" snorted James.

"Shut up... I'm gonna marry the broad."

"It's completely different," said Orion returning to the topic on hand. "I married Lia because I loved her… or well, thought I did."

"Well do you still love her? I mean, Ellie gave you an antidote an hour ago. Wait, don't answer that, give it a little time. You're still upset."

"UPSET?" exclaimed Orion. "Lia wants to kill me!"

"That's not so unusual," said James absently rubbing a scar from a particularly nasty fight with Ellie back in fifth year.

"She fired fifteen stunners at me and my bike and watched as we fell from the sky."

"Okay, so that's _less_ usual. But trust me, right now she's probably just as confused as you are. Hurt. Vulnerable," conceded James.

"She didn't seem too vulnerable," scoffed Orion.

"Okay, well, let's just play some poker. We can figure things out in the morning when you've sobered up and had some time to absorb this," suggested Teddy. Orion smiled and started dealing while the other three looked at each other. Not another treacherous witch that betrayed their best friend. If this kept up, his wounded heart would never heal.

* * *

Antlia looked around and sunk deeper into the couch. She could hear Patty walking around upstairs. She hadn't wanted to go in their bedroom, and Patty had volunteered to pack her closet and bedroom, plus the girl was talented at packing charms. She had gone through the majority of the downstairs and grabbed the few things she wanted from the house. Getting up, she crossed to the fireplace that never would have been good for floo calls as it was much too shallow. Lifting a picture off the mantle, she studied her face the day of her marriage. They had looked so happy.

"Having second thoughts?" She looked up to see Patty holding her suitcase and a large box labeled _upstairs_.

"No, just wondering what he's going to do with the place, and all this stuff. I don't want to leave any of my personal things."

"Find anything… personal?" asked Patty noticing the picture was one of Orion and Antlia.

"No," Lia said definitively before picking up her own box labeled _downstairs and basement_ and heading to the garage. "Let's go, I don't want to wait around for him to get home. I don't even want to talk to him. I'll owl him the papers in a few weeks if he doesn't send them first."

"He's your husband, Lia, aren't you even going to talk to him about this? You didn't exactly sit down and have a rational conversation about what happened last night."

"He's a manipulative, lying, bastard, and I refuse to talk to him."

"Are you sure? Are you sure he knew all along?"

Lia opened her mouth to retort before closing it again. Patty took her silence for what it was and continued. "You know, you're not the first girl in the world to find out her life's a lie."

"Yeah, but I thought it was _my_ lie."

* * *

Orion looked around the half empty rooms trailed by James and Ellie who had sympathetic looks on their faces. As he reached her bare closet, he couldn't help but sink against the doorframe in defeat. Until that moment, he hadn't realized he had some sort of hope they could at least work this out as a misunderstanding. No, of course, she married him to escape her arranged marriage with ironically, him – like the nurse said. It was a big lie from the beginning on her part, and she never loved him or wanted him. He was pretty sure love potions had been involved, but he had hoped they weren't. Hopefully they could find an antidote soon.

"I'm sure she just needed a little time and space," said Ellie brightly.

"No, she didn't, she left everything that wasn't hers. She left the pictures of our wedding. She's not coming back, and all I have to do is wait for the bloody owl. I'll be packed in five minutes, and then we can close the place up until I decide what to do with it. Surely she'll want her half when the papers come through."

"You'll be alright, Orion. This isn't the first time you've found out your love life was a giant lie," said James patting his shoulder while Ellie cast a packing charm on his closet.

"Yes, but this time, at least, I thought it was _my _lie," he said crossing the room and grabbing two of the pillows off their bed and directing them into the trunk Ellie was packing with his wand.

**So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, so please review and tell me what you think. I already have the next one written, so please inspire me to post it. Next chapter is the good one where the plot gets really interesting... you don't see it coming... believe me! Anyways, hope all of you are having a great start to the holiday season as that's coming up and all and schools are getting out. Once again please review! Expect an update before christmas if I get enough reviews... Thanks! Ellie**


	7. A Mother's Love

**I waited to publish hoping for more iterest, but, alas, hope you like it. This is the turn point! PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK**

Healer Antlia Black frowned as she continued to add notes to the chart of a particularly baffling case. She flipped through the reference book at her elbow and scribbled a few more lines before a loud knocking on the door of her office interrupted her train of thought. "Someone had better be dying!" she called as she flicked her wand causing it to open. Her frown increased.

"I thought I told you not to bother me at the office," she snapped as her guest shut the door behind her and cast a few spells.

"This is your first and last warning, darling," said her mother urgently. "You need to disappear!"

"What?" exclaimed Antlia as her mother was currently hugging her in the middle of her work day.

"Your father's crazy sister! And her demented husband!"

"Aunt Cruella and Uncle Lucifer?" asked Antlia.

"Yes, and their obsession with the old ways and purebloodedness. While being from old families is nice, you know your father and I were okay with you marrying that muggle, who I'm sure is very nice and I'd love to meet. I'm not sure anyone told them, but I'm sure they knew. But now! Darling, I've packed a trunk for you of some robes and clothes that I think will fit along with a good deal of money and some books and things you might need. You need to run, get out of the country now!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON MOTHER?"

"Cruella and Lucifer saw the bud on the family tree. They know you're expecting. And while they didn't mind if you were married to a muggle for a little while, they sure aren't going to let you have his child. They mean to purify the family tree by whatever means possible. They're out for blood, that of your child. And yours if they have to by consequence." Antlia stared in shock at her mother as the woman wrung her hands nervously. "They confronted your father, he's holding them off, but they won't stop at nothing but total purification. I won't let them do this to my daughter or her child, so you must flee, immediately."

"But, but, Ryan isn't a muggle, he's a pureblood, I mean, he's Orion Black, the man you wanted me to marry," said Antlia confused as to what was happening and starting to panic. Surely her mother had known all along and been in on Orion's plot.

"What?" now her mother was confused.

"I found out my muggle husband wasn't a muggle at all but is really Orion Black, heir of the Rousseau fortune, the man you and papa wanted me to marry. He tricked me into thinking he was a muggle! You had to have been in on it! I left him two months ago! This child is as pure as pure-blooded gets!"

"Oh Merlin, I'm sure there's more to the story, but there is no time! Darling, you have to get out of the country, and hide! Your crazy Aunt and Uncle are going to act first and ask questions later! They won't believe you until that child is born and listed in the book of pure!"

"Can't we go to the Aurors?" exclaimed Antlia as her mother pulled out a shrunken trunk and a tattered old beret.

"We can, but do you really think those incompetent bimbos in the French Auror Team could really do anything in a timely manner- certainly not before the child is born. The only competent one was that English lad who returned to the isles last month after…. O Merlin, _HE'S _your husband!"

Suddenly the silver mist of a patronus slipped under the door to the office and took the form of a polar bear. _I couldn't keep them any longer without curses flying. They've left, probably for the hospital. They're enraged! Run._

"Mama, what do I do?" said Antlia, eyes wide with a protective hand splayed over her midsection as her other held her wand with a white knuckled grip. She had never heard her father's voice take on that tone.

Celeste La'Blanc shoved the trunk into her daughters free hand and the hat on her head while simultaneously tapping the latter with her wand.

"I love you, Lia," she whispered as her daughter took on a blue glow and disappeared. Pulling a rusty lunchbox out, she too disappeared with a blue glow seconds later. She was the only one who knew where that portkey had sent her daughter, and she wasn't sticking around to tell anyone. Her trunk was packed for decidedly warmer weather too. Hopefully this could all be cleared up before her grandchild's birth, but knowing those incompetent aurors and the suspicion she had about her sister and brother in law's skills, she didn't have much hope. She was fairly sure they had been heavily involved in the British wars on muggles and muggleborns but skillfully evaded any repercussions. Well, if she had anything to do with this particular episode, they would rot in Azcaban… or hell.

"Did she go?" asked her husband with a worry creased forehead as soon as she had landed. "Is she safe?"

"Yes, and you'll never believe what she told me!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Lia La'Blanc Black stumbled through her landing in the middle of Diagon Alley. She was still wearing bright green healer robes, and that hideous beret her mother had used as a portkey. She tossed the portkey down a black alley and started walking swiftly. She'd never been the target of anything, let alone murder.

She had to find someone to help her. She needed… protection. And her mother was right, the English Aurors led by Harry Potter were the absolute best in the world. They could help. She may not be an English citizen, but they would understand, they had to.

She hurried almost frantically with no direction down the unfamiliar street, passing stores she knew nothing of, hoping against hope she could find the English Ministry Building before she had a full blown panic attack. She turned down a side street that looked promising and sped up seeing a horrible looking window display of what looked to be stillborn house elves in jars. Recoiling from yet another display, she bumped hard into someone, tripping on the uneven cobbles.

Lia braced herself for impact, but felt strong arms pull her up and set her one her feet. "What's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this? Are you lost?" came a friendly voice. A tall dark haired man with a kind smile and even kinder eyes looked down at her. "There, there, it's alright," he said using his handkerchief to wipe away tears she wasn't aware of. "Miss?" She looked around frantically. "Miss, do you need help?"

"YES!" she said, finally finding her English voice. "I need to find… Mr. Potter!"

"At your service," laughed the man.

"No! The Auror! He can help me! I need to find the English ministry!" she said frantically. "I'm in danger!"

"Well, I'm Mr. Potter, the auror, and if you're in danger, we had better find someplace safe to talk this over, and I'm sure that the ministry will be as good a place as any, but if that's where you were headed for, you were pretty lost. How long have you been in England?"

"I don't know, twenty minutes?" she said in a still terrified tone as he laughed.

"Allow me to escort you?" he said holding out his arm to the tearful French beauty. She nodded and took his arm, before he apparated away.

They landed right outside a small pub on a crowded muggle street, and he pulled her inside before she could get a good look around. He swiftly led her to the fireplace and pushed her inside while yelling the destination.

Popping out of the fireplace, Lia promptly leaned over and vomited. She was still clutching her stomach and gagging when he arrived behind her. He gave her a look of apology before scorgifying the mess. "Dreadfully sorry, didn't realize you were floo sensitive, Miss," he said. Her face was red as a tomato after loosing her breakfast in front of _the_ Harry Potter.

"I'm… it has more to do with my dilemma than being floo sensitive," she said tiredly as he led her through security where they checked her wand and flagged him through. Before she knew it, she was walking out of a lift into the Auror Department. Her mind was a boggled blur at this point, and she was pretty sure her eyes were still leaking tears.

"You wanted to talk to Mr. Potter at the Auror Department, and here we are," said the man leading her to a door. He knocked and opened the door, leading her. "And well, I think you meant my father, so here we are. He'll take good care of you, but can I get you some tea?" Lia looked between him and the older man with bright green eyes behind the desk and started sobbing again. When he asked about tea, he just sounded so much like…

"There, there, can't be that bad," said the older Mr. Potter as the younger one took her sobs as a yes and went for tea. "What is the matter that James brought you here with no notice or explanation?"

"They're going to kill my baby!" exclaimed Lia hysterically as James Potter walked in the door behind her and dropped the tea he was carrying.

"What!" both men exclaimed. "WHO?" they said in unison. It was hard to believe such a pretty, sweet looking young girl was in danger of losing a child.

"My aunt and uncle! They discovered I'm pregnant and are going to ex… exterminate my baby! And me if they have to!" Lia suddenly stood and shut the door, seemingly paranoid.

"Why…. Why would they want to do that?" asked Mr. Potter gently, while his son repaired the teacup.

"Because they think that his father is a… mug… mug… muggle!" She sobbed brokenly. "They're crazy, my parents held them off and warned me to flee, but… I have nowhere to go! And the only thing the French Aurors are good at is eating pastries! My mother sent me here! You have to help me!"

"Who are your Aunt and Uncle?" asked Harry.

"Cruella and Lucifer De'Ville, and my mother said they may have been suspected death eaters if that helps," she slowly sipped the tea that James had given her and the fact that it was spiked with calming drought seemed to be doing wonders.

"I know of them," said Harry piecing together the puzzle. "And they want your baby dead to prevent impurities in their family tree- sounds like someone I knew."

"I can't let my baby die!" exclaimed Lia, fat tears still rolling down her face, although her hysterical sobs had stopped.

"Don't worry Miss De'Ville," said James with a reassuring smile.

"It's La'Blanc," Lia corrected quickly, not wanting them to think she shared a last name with those horrible people. A small buzz came from Mr. Potter senior's wand.

"We need to assign an auror to her immediately, James. Her relatives are classified as potentially dangerous just with their history in England, and I'm sure she'll need an auror assigned to her until they can be apprehended… maybe someone who speaks French to make her feel more comfortable…" suggested Harry to James.

"I have just the man," said James with a wink before leaving the room.

"I'm sorry, we don't even have your name," said Harry. "Let's get some basic information about you to start, to build the case file and all."

"Antlia La'Blanc," said Lia as Harry's wand buzzed again.

"If you want us to work with you, we need your real name please, you have nothing to fear," said Harry.

"That is my real… oh... sometimes I forget I'm married… My husband is…"

A knock at the door interrupted her before it swung open to reveal James and another auror. "Orion Black reporting for duty sir."

**So there you have it... Sorry about the sorta cliff hanger. what do you think... please dooo tell! I really appreiciate your reviews! Please, even if it's just one or two words! We need a like or dislike button on FF- elaine.**


	8. And I'm home

**So not such a funny chapter, but still good I think. Please enjoy and review! I really need that extra motivation from reviews w. school starting back up this past week. Thanks to those who reviewed because that's really why you're reading this chapter! Motivation is an amazing concept.**

Lia turned quickly at the first sound of his voice to see him standing in the doorway looking more devastatingly handsome than ever. Without thought, she threw herself into his arms, so happy to see his familiar face. "I can't believe you're here! I'm so thankful you could come. I didn't think you would, or I would have looked for you myself. I can't believe mama found you!" She exclaimed in hysterical French, once again sobbing despite the calming draught she had been given. She clung to the front of his dark robes, burying her face in his chest and inhaling his safe, calming scent. Orion looked as shocked as the two Potter men and seemed to freeze for all of half a minute.

"Bloody hell, if you wanted me to sign the damn papers you could have owled them to me like a normal person! You don't have to bloody beg. I'm not that heartless, if you want me to sign them, I will. You don't have to ambush me at work!" exclaimed Orion furiously, pushing her away as if her touch burned him. "And James, really! You couldn't tell me before we walked in here?"

Lia looked up at him with wide red rimmed eyes, tears still in her eyes, but startled out of her sobbing. Orion looked enraged as he glared at his friend, almost pained.

"Ryan…" she said pitifully, not understanding his anger but causing him to redirect it toward her.

"I'll sign them! I'll give you whatever you want! All of it!" he burst out causing Lia to step back and collapse into her chair with an onset of rapid hiccupping, something he knew from experience meant she had gone past hysterical . Immediate guilt washed over him. "Now come on, it's alright. I… I'm… I'm sorry I yelled," he said softly in French.

"What is going on here, Black!" demanded Mr. Potter from behind his desk, while James studied the woman that Orion was kneeling in front of trying to calm. "I have _never_ known you to be so unprofessional toward anyone, let alone someone I'm about to place in your protective custody!"

"Protective Custody!" demanded Orion, leaping to his feet and turning to face Mr. Potter with a terrifying expression.

"Yes, meet your new assignment Mr. Black. She needs protected from some relatives who wish to harm her unborn child."

"UNBORN CHILD!" roared Orion as the hiccupping got louder and even faster than before, so much so that James who still observed from the door wondered if the woman would pass out. Orion seemed to think the same thing, because he once again dropped to his knee and looked at the red swollen face streaked with tears and sighed with only a hint of anger.

"Do you know her, because we haven't gotten a name out of her?" asked Mr. Potter, still quite disturbed by the entire mess and more than a bit confused. Orion stood, gave him a look filled with anger, frustration, and more than a bit of worry before leaning over and picking up the woman, taking a seat and pulling her into his lap. In an action that neither Potter male had expected, he started rubbing the woman's back in gentle, calming motions while his other hand combed lightly through the long mass of hair that was half fallen out of what looked to have been an elegant twist.

"Yes," said Orion taking the pins out of her hair with almost practiced motions, smoothing the long dark strands. "I'm sorry I couldn't introduce you under… better circumstances… but I'd like you to meet my wife." James burst out laughing while Mr. Potter looked utterly shocked. "Now that that's been cleared up, I'd really like to know what the hell is going on here?"

"Cruella and Lucifer De'Ville aunt and uncle of Miss… Mrs. Black believe that she is carrying a muggle's child and wish to purify their family tree before it can be born. They mean to exterminate the child and if necessary it's mother. Mrs. Black's mother sent her here to seek our aide. James found her wandering Knockturn Alley and brought her here. We tried to calm her with calming draught, but it appears unsuccessful. We decided it would be best if she was placed in twenty four hour protective custody due to the extremely dangerous nature of her relatives who have histories of dark associations. I wanted an auror who could communicate in French, and James had just brought you in to accept the assignment, and here we are."

As Mr. Potter outlined the situation, showing pictures of the two family members, Orion continued caressing Lia's hair as she slowly calmed down until she was simply curled into a small ball on his lap, quietly sniffling once in a while into his shirt. Somehow, she reflected with self loathing, between being pregnant, having her child and herself threatened, and the stress of seeing her estranged husband, she had turned into a pitiful mess of hysterics. In front of Harry Potter.

"Under the circumstances, as I am suspecting that you two are separated, I can find another auror to take on the case. However, I will not prevent you from taking the case if you so wish," said Harry.

"Of course I accept the case. Like I would trust anyone else with her, and that includes YOU James." James scoffed. "Just one more thing, because otherwise I'll always want to know," said Orion casually. He looked down into the silvery blue eyes and lifted Lia's chin. "Who is the father?"

The hand came up so quickly, he didn't even see it, as the inkpot on Mr. Potter's desk exploded in a burst of angry uncontrolled magic. Lia was out of his lap and at the door before he could fully register the pain from the slap or the fact that the Potter men looked a bit like Dalmatians. He could barely grab her wrist before she stormed out the door. Pulling her back to him by both wrists as she struggled to drag herself away, he looked into her eyes and saw the truth.

"Why didn't you tell me!" he demanded, trying to rein in his anger and keep from yelling. He pulled her closer when she tried to look away. James and his father were still staring wide eyed at the two. "Why didn't you tell me!"

"I didn't even know until weeks after you left!" Lia finally exclaimed in a somewhat apologetic voice. "What was I going to do? Send a letter? Show up on your doorstep? I hadn't heard from you in weeks and for all I knew, the divorce papers were going to show up any second!"

"But you owed it to me to tell me!" said Orion. "Were you _ever_ going to tell me?"

"I hadn't told ANYONE! Not even my parents knew! Trice didn't know! And if you think for one second that I haven't written you a hundred letters or had this conversation a million times in my head!"

"Is this why you didn't send any papers?" demanded Orion.

"Why didn't _you_ send them?" threw back Lia. Orion looked away and they knew the conversation was over. For now.

"You can let go, you're hurting me," mumbled Lia after a long pause. Looking down, Orion relinquished his hold on her wrists and she returned to the chair while Orion stepped to the opposite side of the room as the chair before looking at his still shocked boss.

"I'll take Lia to my house, she'll be safe there," said Orion authoritatively. James scoffed again.

"You can't mean to take her to that dingy flat in muggle East Ham!" exclaimed James with real concern. The place Orion had been renting for the past month was disgusting, cramped, and not where he would take any lady, let alone a wife who would be in danger from her muggle hating relatives.

"Of course not, don't be dense. I'm taking her to Black Manor."

"You're taking your wife to your parent's house?" asked James in shock.

"No, my parents live in my grandmother's family home. They call it Black Manor, but she was the oldest daughter in a long line of only sons and inherited the place. My brother will inherit what used to be Prince Palace, and I already inherited the manor that once belonged to the grand headmaster himself… although for floo network purposes I guess I'll have to rename my place. My grandfather Sirius left it to my father who gave it to me as a wedding present. I was planning on taking my bride to live there when I was called back from duty in France. If she had agreed. And don't worry, it's ready for inhabitation unlike my flat."

"I had no idea you had a manor!" said James with a hint of indignation. "You are no longer allowed to make fun of me for my monstrous mansion!"

"Fine, fine, fine. I apologize for my hypocrisy." James seemed only mildly appeased by the somewhat sarcastic apology.

"Where is this manor, and what are the wards like?" asked Harry, curious about the home Sirius had left to his son. When he had died, he hadn't even let Harry know of his son and the fortune he had passed to him. Harry hadn't ever known of James Black until a few years ago, but apparently he and Grace Anne Prince Black had married and had a son.

"It's actually… well I was going to surprise James when I invited him over. It's on the other side of Godric's Hallow. Blackheath was actually built to be close to their cousin's home of Black Manor. Potter Manor is actually sandwiched between the two a bit. We'll be in walking distance. The wards are air tight. The Black family has always been a suspicious, unwelcoming, paranoid lot if you ask me. It would be very difficult to get into the property unless they walked right through the front gate which requires an invitation and lowering of the wards. Besides, if they think she married a muggle, why would they look for her there unless they know she married me. And if they know that, there is no reason to kill the child. She will be safe there."

"Of all the neighbors to move in next door… I can't wait to tell Ellie! Just think of the pranks!" laughed James realizing the implications of his two best friends living so close.

"Well, I'm sure that will be useful if you are ever in need of assistance in this mission. You will keep Antlia there until she gives birth, the child is listed in the book of pure, and her relatives call of the manhunt," said Harry.

"I think I can protect my wife," said Orion slightly affronted by the implication he couldn't keep Antlia safe.

"Yeah, but who's going to protect you from her?" laughed James remembering the slap of twenty minutes ago and the incident two months ago.

"This will be your primary mission. You needed time off anyways," said Harry. "I'll expect you to report back for new cases when your paternity leave is complete."

"Yes sir," said Orion.

"What about my job?" asked Lia suddenly piping up, proving she had been listening the entire time.

"I'll notify your employers if you can give me that information. I'm sure they will be understanding."

"Thank you," said Antlia quietly, her voice somewhat hoarse from her tears and hysterics of earlier.

"Take care of yourself and the baby, Mrs. Black," said Harry. "I look forward to seeing the birth announcement."

Lia was very quiet on their walk out of the ministry and when they flooed to his apartment to get his things. She sat on the only chair at the small three legged table that was held up by a stack of books on transfiguration in one corner. He never spent any time here and hadn't cared to supply it with anything but the most basic of needs. He had spent the last two months at work, sometimes sleeping curled up as a dog under his desk. With nothing to come home to, why bother? Looking around, he was embarrassed to have her see what he had become.

Eventually, he apparated them to the outskirts of his property, which was very close to James', and brought her to the large gate. After a slight wave of his wand, he led them through and then swished his wand behind them, leaving a magical marker that she was family and could enter and control the ward as she pleased. He would show her how they worked later- maybe when he decided it would be safe if she left.

The house was as grand as he remembered it, but a little less dreary as spring had sprung since he had been gifted the property the previous winter. The vines that climbed along the grey stone walls made of the same stone that composed Hogwarts were starting to green up a bit from the color they had been in the winter. The trees lining the walk had pretty little pink and white blooms on them, and the house almost looked cheerful. Walking up to the multi winged three story monstrosity, he opened the door before turning to see Lia looking closely at the creeping vines.

"Something wrong?" he asked seeing her intense concentration.

"I've just never seen so many roses. They'll absolute cover the house in the high summer when they bloom," she said wistfully.

"Well unless you're much farther along than I suspect, you should be here to see it," said Orion curtly.

"This is a terrible idea Orion, we can't live here together. I'll go somewhere else, we'll go back and talk to Mr. Potter, and…" She broke off as Orion swept her up in his arms.

"PUT ME DOWN!" demanded the no longer calm Antlia. "WHAT _ARE_ YOU DOING!"

"Carrying my wife over the threshold. It's good luck you know," said Orion setting her down and walking out of the room dismissively.

"I'll give you good luck!" steamed Antlia, finally unleashing the hurt and anger from the day. "You humiliated me in front of the Potters! I should…. I should…" She would have continued but her husband was gone from site, and she had no idea where anything was in this giant house. She sighed and pulled her shrunken trunk from her pocket. She needed to find someplace to change out of her work robes.

"Mistress," came a voice from behind her, causing her to whirl and point her wand at a wide eyed house elf with funniest shaped ears she'd ever seen on an elf. She lowered her wand and smiled at the sweet looking elf. "Clover was asked to show you to your room and ensure you were comfortable as long as you and the Master are in residence."

By the time she'd had a bath and changed, Clover brought a tray of all her favorite foods to her room. She nibbled off the tray and was asleep before eight. When the medical research book she had fallen asleep reading was removed from her hands and the covers pulled up around her shoulders, she didn't even stir. It had been a long day.

* * *

After a few days, Antlia wasn't even sure if Orion was still in residence. She hadn't seen him at all, but she hadn't ventured from her room besides to the library Clover had shown her the first day when she had awoken to the rain pitter pattering on her window. By the third day in the manor, she was desperate to escape the confines of the indoors, and when she awoke to the sun shining through her window, she couldn't get out of her room quick enough.

By the time she reached the gardens, she was practically skipping with joy. The gardens were extensive and obviously well cared for in the absence of the Black family, especially if she was correct in saying no one had lived there recently. Finding a fountain, she sat down and let her fingers drag through the cool water. It was beautiful here. Much prettier than the city house where she had grown up. The fresh air of the English countryside was invigorating and the sound of animals mixing with the music of the fountain was serene. Watching the birds flit from tree to tree, she fantasized about what it would have been like to grow up here, surrounded by nature instead of a big city. Eventually, a child raised here would go to Hogwarts, the school every young witch or wizard had at least one dream about before going off to whatever school they were sent. After all, every romantic or heroic story was associated with Hogwarts somehow.

A sudden bark made her look up. A large black dog was sitting a few feet away on the path from the house. Antlia, although not overly superstitious, had a moment of panic before recognizing that the blue collar the dog was wearing meant it couldn't be the grim. Relaxing, she coaxed the dog to her. "Come here, it's okay, I won't hurt you," she said.

The dog pranced over to her happily and immediately shoved its face into her hand, wagging its tail. Lifting the tag on the collar, Lia read the name. "Alpha," she said with a smile as the dog barked in recognition of his name. "We can be friends. I was getting a bit lonely here you know, since that stupid husband of mine can't be bothered with me; but you're a smart doggie. You know I'm much more fun than he is!" she laughed guessing the dog was Orion's. "Come," she said getting up from the fountain. "We'll get you a stick and play some fetch. Dog's like fetch, right?" Alpha barked in response and followed her down the path, deeper into the gardens.

**Please please review and tell me what you think. Also, does anyone have any thoughts on if I should change the characters used to search for this story since Orion is such an obscure character (and probably people searching for it are looking for a different more cannon Orion Black)? If so, what should I put as the character searches? Thanks!**

**Ellie**


	9. And so we meet again

**I know it's been a while, but I've been super busy. I hope you like this, and I hope to post another chapter v. soon. Also, check out my new story (that was already written because I've had it forever so it isn't taking up time from this story and CYKAS). Please review!**

The next morning, Antlia awoke to the most wonderful smell. Seeing the warm July sunshine outside, she hurried to dress and meet the day. Walking out the front door, she gasped. The entire house was covered in white blossoms. The roses had bloomed, and they were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The vines creeped and crawled around windows, the chimney, all the way to the roof, and nearly the entire manor had some of the floral covering on it.

"It's beautiful," she couldn't help but sighing as she summoned a book she had been reading from the library and headed to the fountain. She was going to enjoy the day. She had barely got there and settled down in a newly appeared chair, when Alpha bounded up and snuggled up to her side happily. At least she wouldn't have to enjoy the day alone.

It was nice to have a friend, and the house was so peaceful, Lia couldn't help enjoying her day.

"Come on, boy," she said as she headed upstairs to get ready for bed, allowing Alpha to head into the room ahead of her. He immediately jumped up on the bed and laid down as she went to the dresser and pulled the pins out of her hair, brushing it out after a long day outside. She pulled out a nightgown and got ready for bed, humming a bit and talking to her companion idly about nothing.

"You can stay here tonight if you want," she said to the dog, as she got into bed. " I just cracked the door if you want to escape, but I don't know if that husband of mine lets you sleep on a nice bed like this one. It's more than big enough for two. If not, I'm going to sleep. Thanks for keeping me company, you were a good dog today." And as if accepting the invitation, Alpha curled up at her feet and seemed content to stay so she flicked her wand at the light and went to sleep.

* * *

Antlia opened her eyes and snuggled deeper into the warm body next to her with a sigh as she closed her eyes again. She was contemplating getting up when a warm arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her closer. Yes, it was rather too comfortable to get up just yet… _arm?_

Shooting out of bed, she scrambled for her wand, disoriented by the barely familiar room, and the fact she had an unexpected bedmate.

"HUH!" exclaimed Orion, sitting up from his spot on top of the covers, her movement waking him.

"_What are you doing!"_ demanded Antlia quietly, her wand lowered but still shooting sparks as he rubbed his eyes disoriented.

"Sleeping, now come back to bed, darlin'," said Orion sleepily falling back and then realizing he was nude except for a pair of blue boxers, pulling some sheets over him to cover up.

"_Why are you in my bed?" _Lia said looking around the room.

"You said I could stay, now either let me sleep or come back to bed," muttered a still half asleep Orion.

"I most certainly did nn…." protested Lia. "YOU! **YOU!**"

"FUCK!" exclaimed Orion, shooting out of the bed and stumbling as he hit his feet.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT YOU BASTARD!" shrieked Lia shooting another hex at him as he scrambled for his wand, trying to duck her onslaught of spells. "YOU! YOU! TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME!"

"I was just keeping you company," he said frantically dodging spells as he realized his wand was tangled up in the mess of sheets on the bed.

"You let me pour my lonely heart out to you for two days!" she said flaming with embarrassment. "YOU WATCHED ME UNDRESS!"

"Not like I hadn't seen it all before," he said as she threw a rather violent curse his way, hitting his arm, causing instant bruising. "You give a rather nice show," he added with a laugh, causing her to scream in frustration. "I had to stay close to protect you two!"

"That's very nice and well, but who's going to protect you from ME!" she said, throwing another series of spells his way, a rather powerful stunner hitting him in the chest before he could answer. And it was just her luck that as he fell, he happened to crack his head on the bedpost, blood immediately flowing out of the gaping wound on his forehead.

"RYAN!" she screamed, realizing she might have really hurt him and rushing to his side, rolling him over. His eyes snapped open, and before she could register anything happening, he had rolled on top of her and stolen her wand, pinning her hands above her head as he cast a spell of his own and a burst of white came out the tip. He looked at her, the tears that had welled up in her eyes when she watched him fall threatening to fall as blood dripped from his head wound to her face.

"Ryan?" she said tentatively, reaching for his face as he had almost immediately released her hands upon unarming her. "Oh, Merlin, I… I…" and she was hysterical as he slowly rolled to sit next to her and she sat up. "I… I'm sorry… Oh… You're…."

"I deserved that one," he said quietly as she sobbed, her hands shaking.

"I'll… let me… where's… yes… wand…"

"I already asked James to send his wife over, she can heal me up," said Orion, moving the wand away from her grasp.

"But… I… I did… I can.."

"You're barely coherent, darling. Ellie can fix me up as well as you could normally, but I don't think you're in a state to patch me up right now."

"I'm sorry!" she wailed as quick footsteps could be heard in the hallway. "I…. you're…"

"Black!" came a loud voice from the door.

"Present," replied Orion, raising a hand, and James and a young woman in a dressing gown came around to the side of the bed where Orion was sitting with his back against the side, holding a corner of the sheet to his head, trying to staunch the blood running from the gash in his forehead while Lia knelt next to him looking miserable and guilty as silent tears ran down her face that was also covered with his blood.

"Oh, bloody hell!" exclaimed James, looking sick at the blood, not sure who it was coming from.

"I'LL GO PEACEFULLY!" exclaimed Lia, throwing her hands in the air seeing James, wand in hand and in his auror robes as he must have just been getting ready for work. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO REALLY HURT HIM!"

"We're not here to arrest you for throwing a couple spells at your husband," laughed James. "I mean… if anyone, maybe Orion should be in trouble. You _are_ supposed to dodge those!" he laughed.

"Of course, any good husband dodges all of his wife's hex's, _James,_" said Ellie pointedly as she knelt down next to the crying Lia and calm Orion. "Nice to meet you, I'm Elaine Potter," she said sticking out a hand for Lia to shake. "I'm a healer. Orion's message said he must have hit his head after catching a stunner, and that you were too hysterical to fix him up."

"I… I didn't… I'm a…" said Lia, trying to calm herself before she got the hiccups. Orion must have anticipated the same thing because his free hand was rubbing her back.

"Yeah, James," Orion said over Lia's mumblings. "Like you've never needed a couple of counter spells after a run in with Ellie here."

"That's different, my wife happens to be an exceptionally bright witch with a fiery temper," James defended himself.

"And mine isn't?" demanded Orion, causing James to pale. "Last I checked, my wife had a pretty interesting temper and knew her way around the business end of a wand."

"Okay, point taken, sorry Lia. Didn't mean to imply you weren't a formidable witch in your own right," he amended sheepishly.

"There, good as new," said Elaine with a smile, looking at Orion's newly headed head. "No long term damage done, and I'll bet you deserved it," she said. "Let's get some breakfast together, Lia. I want to meet the girl who captured Orion here's heart so fully! Besides, from what I've heard, we might have quite a bit in common, besides being married to marauders that is."

"And I'll take Orion in to work for a bit. I'm sure the girls will be safe with your airtight wards," said James pulling a protesting Orion to his feet.

"No, I need to protect Lia and the baby!"

"They'll be fine, I'm sure the wards on this old house will hold to protect one of their own and an heir. You need the break from each other and Ellie can watch her for a few hours, we'll be back around lunch," said James, pulling the still mostly naked Orion from the room so he could get decent for work.

"Come on, I'm sure the house elves already made tea, and we'll have them whip up some food. I for one would like an omelet," said Elaine, gently leading the still shocked Lia from the room. "Believe me when I say I've seen Black with worse, and most of the time he deserves it. He wasn't upset, and he was fine."

"I… I could have killed him!" Antlia finally burst out as they entered the kitchen to find two elves busily preparing breakfast, tea already on the small table.

"But you didn't. Now, I want to hear all about your marriage, and everything with you and Orion and this mess. It seems like you could use some companionship."

"That's how this mess kind of started. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me first say there's two sides to every story. And this is mine, the right one…" and Lia began the saga of their life together, in the process becoming fast friends with Ellie Potter.

"And so there I am, when this big black dog shows, up and let me tell you! My heart stopped, and I was sure I had seen the grim!"

"NO! But! OH!" exclaimed Elaine. "And this morning! I… I… James would be dead."

"Oh, it was a close call… but… I really do regret overreacting, but he… I'm still upset he would trick me like that… not that I haven't come to expect him to lie and deceive… about everything!"

"He's definitely been using your ignorance to his advantage."

"I just… I didn't even think to question it."

"You were lonely, but no more worries, you have me now, and I'll introduce you to my very best friend Victoire Lupin. You'll like her. Her only major character flaw seems to be that she also married a marauder… but… I mean… so did we."

"If she's anything like you, I'm sure I'll like her very much. Thank you so much for being so kind and understanding and letting me pour my heart out to you. You really didn't have to you know."

"But I did. You seem so nice, and I think we'll end up becoming close friends. If for no other reason than that our husbands are best friends and inseparable. I need someone to try and help me control Black. However, I think we would have become friends even if we met under different circumstances," laughed Ellie, already rather liking this sweet, funny French woman.

"I need a friend right now, so thank you, Elaine," replied Lia with a big smile.

"Oh, it's Ellie now… or El, or Lainey, we're on a nickname basis now," joked Ellie.

"Lia," said Antlia sticking out her hand as if they were just meeting. "Antlia is much to formal, and strange."

"I kinda like it…. Fits you…" said Ellie with a smirk, causing Antlia to laugh and shake her head in protest.

* * *

Orion and James flooed into the front entry, and the first thing they noticed was the laughter coming from the open door of the morning room. James casually looked in, leaning against the frame with a smile. Ellie was sitting on a sofa, her feet propped up in front of her, hands resting on her seven month pregnant stomach while she watched Lia react some sort of hilarious story from the opposite chair.

"And that's how I met your husband!" laughed Lia as Elaine giggled, helplessly gasping for air.

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't that funny. She was bawling her eyes out and in grave danger," snapped James when the laughing seemed to go on and on and neither noticed their husbands in the doorway. Lia looked over and laughed again.

"You don't remember me," she said, walking slowly up to him. "Perhaps, some firewhiskey might jog your memory?"

"What?" replied a puzzled James, wondering why she was closing in on him.

"It was a dark, hot summer night in Paris, you and me all by our lonesome in the alley behind my favorite club. Surely you remember…. Prongsie?"

"James?" growled Orion, wondering why Elaine seemed to think this was hilarious as James still had a puzzled look on his face.

"You said I couldn't hold a candle to miss-200-rejections?" said Lia pouting and putting her hands on her hips, sounding unamused as James' eyes widened. "Yeah, not exactly what every insecure seventeen year old wants to hear from a hot stranger at a bar. I was quite devastated."

"Antlia… oh… OH!" laughed James. "And you listened to me pour my heart out… oh…. This is just great… Ellie… sweetheart… I was terribly drunk… and I wasn't really that pathetic… and…" James broke off, his protests drowned out by his wife's mirth.

"Oh yes you were," said Orion and Lia at the same time, surprising themselves and looking away from each other uncomfortably.

"I… I… love you…" laughed Ellie. "But really… you were… quite… lovesick… although… it's a little…. Sweet… in a sad pathetic sort of way…" James rolled his eyes and crossed the room to sit with her, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

"I'm glad I can finally see what was so great about her," commented Lia. "I mean, I only listened to you go on about her for hours."

"Well, I'm glad I finally met you again. It was obvious that you were special from the first, and I'm very glad to have met you again," said James sincerely. Ellie sighed, her laughter abating, and pulled him down for a kiss.

"For the record, at that point, I was falling for you."

"I know."

"Cocky bastard!" laughed Ellie. "See what I have to put up with! No wonder it took so long!"

**For those of you new to my stories, or who read Marauders Class of 2018 ages ago, read Chapter 13 to see James and Antlia's first meeting. I wrote her in knowing she would be Orion's wife which is why they never met. But, I like to think that's part of her personality that Orion fell in love with. The kind of girl that you can meet at a bar and talk about another girl to for an hour but she'll actually listen. The kind of girl that will save you from an aggressive blond veela, but make no move herself. You know… the nice kind. Please Review- Ellie**


	10. Didn't realize that was YOU

**Enjoy and review please! I was going to post this earlier today but FF doc manager was down! **

Lia sat in the sunny east facing parlor she had set up as her personal study. Smiling, she reread the letter that had arrived by owl just minutes before. In the past week, she had come to expect an owl from Ellie almost every day. Ellie had come by for tea every day she wasn't working at St. Mungo's and stopped by for her lunch break the other four.

_Lia,  
So excited Torie got home last night. She needed to go in to work to officially sign some papers saying she's taking time off for her maternity leave starting now, but when she gets back, she's flooing to my place and we'll come right over for tea if that's alright with you. Just a hint, she absolutely loves sugar in her tea, so be prepared, and anything chocolate. She's got quite the sweet tooth. I can't wait for you two to meet! Be there soon!  
Ellie_

"Is Dridel coming over?" asked Orion from the doorway, startling her. She gave him a glare for good measure.

"It's Potter now," she replied, knowing he sometimes referred Ellie by her maiden name. "Unfortunately, no one goes around calling me La'Blanc anymore."

"Black suits you," he shot back.

"As it suits you!" she spat back, getting irritated he hadn't left her alone for more than an hour in the past week. "You're a black hearted buffoon that won't leave me alone when you clearly aren't wanted!"

"Message received." She glared at the spot he had stood and felt a vague feeling of disappointment he was gone.

She didn't have much time to ponder though, as she needed to call a house elf and ensure that tea would be ready to her specifications as soon as her friends arrived.

"Lainey!" she said excitedly hugging her new friend who was emerging from the fireplace.

"Lia! This is Toire," said Elaine with a big smile, pushing the tall, very pregnant, incredibly beautiful blonde toward Lia.

"Ellie has only good things to say about you," said Victoire a bit shyly, holding out her hand.

"I'm French, darling," laughed Lia, pulling Victoire into a hug and kissing her on both cheeks in greeting. "And I feel as if I already know you!"

"I have a feeling we are going to get along superbly," laughed Victoire in perfect French she had learned from her mother, while Ellie shook her head.

"Come, come, sit," she said, playing the hostess and leading the two witches to the tea table that was already ready with everything, kept fresh with a warming charm. "Ellie said you've been on a trip with your husband, how was it?"

"Oh, well, since we're going to have the babies underfoot soon, we thought to have a little get away just the two of us," said Victoire with a smile. "It was wonderful! We went to Egypt, where he's spent much of the past year."

"What was your husband doing in Egypt?" Lia asked, hiding her smile as Victoire poured sugar into her tea. Elaine gave her a knowing look.

"He's been working as a curse breaker while doing some undercover work for the ministry. But he's done with that now. He just started his own business, and he decided a desk job might be better for a family man."

"Oh, that's good, you won't have to be separated so much," said Lia. "Probably a lot less dangerous, you can sleep at night."

"Well with Theodore, goodness, that man's middle name should have been trouble. I'm sure he'll find enough trouble at a desk job, especially with James and Orion as friends."

"Wait, I thought your husband's name was Mo… no that's ridiculous… Oh my MERLIN!" exclaimed Lia, setting her cup down. "You're Victoire Lupin as in Theodore Lupin who made the single most important medical breakthrough of the century and who's new business happens to be Remus Remedies, the global supplier of the only potion known to cure lycanthropy?"

"Erm… yes," said Victoire nervously. Lia squeeked.

"He's really not that big of a deal when you get to know him. Kind of like my father in law," said Ellie when Lia looked like she was going to pass out.

"Yeah, he truly is a mortal. Believe me, I would know," said Vic with a slight look of disgust. "But then, I do love him for that," she added brightening. "Just last night he did the most adorable thing…"

And so Lia made her second friend since arriving in England.

"Is the violent veela really coming over again today?" asked Orion with a somewhat sulky tone, interrupting Lia's breakfast.

"Yes," answered Lia, the fifth word she'd said to him all week.

"Every day for a week! Doesn't she have better things to do than eat all my food?"

"Orion! Victoire and I happen to be friends. She happens to be on maternity leave while her husband has work. Unlike some worthless wizard I could mention. I happen to be a nice person who enjoys spending time with her and helping her get ready for the babies. However, I do not enjoy spending time with you. _Get out._"

"I liked you better when you were giving me the silent treatment," huffed Orion stalking away.

An hour later, the very pregnant Victoire arrived via the floo with a big smile. "Lia," she said with a smile.

"How are you feeling this morning?" asked Lia with a smile.

"Like I could get a job walking around at quidditch stadiums with advertisements for my Uncle's store on my sides," laughed Victorie somewhat miserably. Lia frowned hearing a muffled bark of laughter from somewhere, but quickly hid the emotion with a smile to her friend.

"Well, you are having twins."

"Which is why I have twice as much baby shopping!" exclaimed Victoire. "We simply have to go today. I read up even more on polyjuice and apparently it is alright to take if you're pregnant as long as you polyjuice yourself as someone else who is also pregnant and therefore your baby will polyjuice to theirs," said Victoire pulling out a potion vial. "Now we can go shopping without worrying about your crazy family."

"And who do you propose I disguise myself as?"

"Elaine Potter of course!" laughed Victoire. "I even brought over some of her clothes since you're a good bit taller than her and she's a good bit fatter at this point."

"I'm dying to get out of this house! You've convinced me," said Lia grabbing the robes and heading to a bathroom to change while Victoire waddled behind her. However, no sooner had Lia downed the potion and the girls picked up their bags to leave than Orion entered the room.

"So, where am I escorting you lovely ladies to today?" he asked with a grin.

"Black, we don't need an escort," snapped ElLia.

"Lia, you can't fool me, I know it's you in there and I'm not letting you go out without me. I am going to protect you and the baby whether you like it or not," he said as Victoire raised her eyebrows.

"What are you talking about, Black? Lia is upstairs taking a nap, locked in her room," said ElLia.

"Alright then, I'll play this little game. What did you and James name your sixth year project?" asked Orion with a smirk.

"Er, Sixth Year Project by Elaine Dridel and James Potter," guessed ElLia.

"I can't believe you forgot darling little Charles David's name!" exclaimed Orion sarcastically. "Cut the shit Lia, I'm smarter than I look. And you're obviously slower than I thought. I'm coming whether you like it or not!"

"Fine!" exclaimed Victoire deferring both a fight and a delay in their departure.

Lia shot her a betrayed look before looking back at Orion who was grinning gleefully. "But, you'll come on my terms," she stated. "You can only come as the dog you truly are. Only can you transform back if we are in real danger," Lia demanded. Victoire agreed while Orion pouted, but the decision was made and thus two pregnant woman and a black dog stepped out of the floo at the Leaky Cauldron, the dog looking quite mean while the women quite amused. The dark haired one tugged on the bright pink sparkly leash a bit roughly.

"COME, ALFALFA," she said with a snort as she waved at the aging landlady. "Where to first, Vic?"

Four hours later, the girls were done shopping, having had bought things for the nursery and tons of darling baby clothes and toys and diapers and necessities at about twenty different stores, dragging the reluctant black dog with them, as it was not unusual in the wizarding world to bring pets place. They had also managed a lunch at a small café across from WWW and a delicious dessert of ice cream at Fortescue's. They were just headed back to the Leaky to floo home, levitating their many bags behind them when a loud shout was heard.

"ELLES!" came a loud voice before a blurr of dark robes rushed to ElLia, and a pair of strange lips were over hers, however briefly. "Thought you were working today, love," said James Potter, not too discreetly embracing his wife while covertly running a hand over her bum. She turned bright red, and stumbled out of his embrace with a flinch. _Alfalfa_ growled loudly, baring his teeth at the man. "Why didn't you tell me you… Orion…." The dog snapped at him, nearly biting his leg as James reached for his wife again and caressed her stomach fondly. He jumped away from the woman he was embracing with a red flush of his own.

"Hello, James," Victoire said, covering the awkward silence. "We were just planning to floo to my house, we've been shopping all day."

"I'll go with you," James said loudly with a slight edge to his voice, obviously upset and uncomfortable. "A warning would have been nice," he hissed as the trio and dog walked to the Leaky.

"Oh, I thought Ellie told you," snapped Victoire, obviously annoyed with her cousin for making the uncomfortable situation.

"She might have," James replied, running his hand through his hair. "Honestly, she… er.. you distracted me this morning," he said.

"Sorry," squeaked ElLia, blushing furiously again. "I… er… James… yes… let's go."

"Oh I love it! We have such lovely taste!" squealed Victoire. They had just put the finishing touches on the baby room they had spent the last two weeks preparing. After their initial shopping trip, they had continued going out with Lia polyjuiced as Elaine, and luckily with no more mishaps with James or anyone else for that matter.

The nursery was indeed beautiful. Two pretty light wood cradles were along one wall, a changing table in a corner with two pretty dressers on either side in an alcove off to one side of the room. A large bay window with built in bookshelves consisted of another alcove where a comfortable rocker and a large comfy chair sat. The main part of the room was a sky blue, while the reading, rocking alcove was a calming green color, and the changing alcove was painted yellow. Everything for a smooth first six months of life was in the room from the toys in the toy chests to the clothes in the drawers that were sorted by size all the way to twenty four months in the bottom drawers of the dressers. Stuffed animals and books lined the shelves along with pretty little noisemaking toys that are excellent occupiers of young minds.

Victoire sank into the large armchair with a sigh, propping her feet up on the ottoman. "I love it," she said contentedly. "I can't wait for your artist friend to come charm the walls! You truly think she'll be able to get a moving under the sea picture, a dessert and a meadow in here?"

"Of course!" laughed Lia. "You'll love Patty! I'm so sorry she can't come until this mess is over with my family! She's part veela too by the way."

"Really… really… wait! You're! OH!" Victoire lept to her feet and started dancing around the room. "I remember you now!" she laughed. "You were my cousin's maid of honor! Her best friend, AntLIA!"

"Patrice is your cousin!" said Lia in shock. "Of course, but… wow… I mean… not that… I just… You were not pregnant when I met you… and… oh that sounds… I'm sorry… I just didn't recognize you… And why didn't you mention you were a Weasley!"

"We're a right pair! But you know what this means though!"

"Trice can come over tomorrow and paint, because you can ask her!" exclaimed an excited Lia. "It will be totally done before the baby even gets here!" The girls squealed while a room over, Orion put his hands over his ears.

"It's so weird not going to King's Cross," laughed Elaine. "Even years later, I always feel like I'm forgetting something or in the wrong place on September first."

"I know," agreed Victoire, sipping tea. "Mum asked me if I wanted to see Louis and the cousins off, but to be honest, I'm just so tired this past week."

"I'm surprised you held out this long," said Lia. "Carrying twins to full term is a feat in and of itself!"

"Well, veelas are notorious for their good pregnancies, and I was on maternity leave, did plenty of bedrest, and had you to help me every step of the way, barely letting me do a thing in my nursery!"

"And it looks SOOO good!" exclaimed Elaine. "Patrice did an amazing job! And Antlia, now that I'm on maternity leave until this sucker comes out, you have to help me! My turn to shamelessly use our new friend to help me nest!" The three laughed.

"You truly were invaluable… oooh," said Victoire before frowning and putting a hand on her stomach.

"Yeah, Potter Junior is using my bladder as a trampoline too," said Elaine. "I swear, I can't drink more than two sips, and I'm off to the loo anymore! I can't imagine with twins! But maybe it's just taking after James." Lia nodded in agreement and gave a little laugh, while Victoire put on a puzzled look.

"No… I think… I think… Yes…" Victoire frowned again. "That _was_ a contraction, and I just had another!" The two friends were on their feet at once.

"I'll floo Teddy, and your mum!" exclaimed Elaine.

"I'll get your hospital bag!"

"I'm here as your personal floo buddy to St. Mungo's," said Orion rushing in, transforming from a dog to a man again, obviously having been just outside the room eavesdropping. He offered a strong arm to support the easily off balanced part-Veela through the floo.

"That shouldn't be necessary!" said Teddy, arriving with a flare of green and looking mildly manic, but also blissful at the same time.

"TED!" exclaimed Victoire with a joyful expression. "We're going to be parents!"

**As I said before, I've been writing Lia in for forever. I hope you liked this chapter. To see her appearance in MHFLIL, check out chapter 16, Victoire's Cousin Trice's wedding! Please review, and know the next chapter I put out should be the epilogue for MHFLIL with the birth of the twins! I'm sooo excited! It's going to be good and any reviews will inspire me to get it done and up faster! Hope you liked this chapter and once again, please review! Elaine**


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